Serie A gets government green light for June 20 return following Covid-19 suspension

The 2019-20 Serie A season will resume on June 20, Italy's sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora has confirmed.

No matches have been played in the Italian top-flight since March 9, with the country one of the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, but teams returned to contact training this week.

Prior to the league's restart, football authorities have made provisional plans to play the second legs of the Coppa Italia semi-finals on June 13-14. Napoli currently lead Inter Milan 1-0 in their meeting, while AC Milan and Juventus drew 1-1 in their first leg.

Teams in Serie A still have either 12 or 13 matches left to play, with four fixtures cancelled in early March as the outbreak worsened in some parts of the country. Defending champions Juventus are currently a point clear of Lazio at the top of the table.

"Football was going to restart when we had the right safety conditions and when the CTS would give the go-ahead to the protocols," Spadafora said.

"Italy is starting again and it is only right that football should do the same.

"The CTS agreed with the medical protocol, but confirmed the absolute necessity for a quarantine period if a player were to test positive.

“The FIGC also assured me that the Plan B (play-offs and play-outs) and Plan C (using existing table) can be adopted in case of suspension. It is not up to me as sports minister to decide, it will be decided by the FIGC."

The announcement comes just hours after the Premier League announced it will return on June 17, while Spain's LaLiga will resume on June 8.

The German Bundesliga has already returned, while the fifth of Europe's 'big five' league, France's Ligue 1, has cancelled the remainder of its season.