Italy’s top flight is due to resume from June 20, with the Coppa Italia to be finished in the week prior, but the Italian chief has voiced his concern
Brescia owner Massimo Cellino has hit out at plans to resume the Serie A season next month, insisting players will be far more susceptible to injuries after being rushed back onto the pitch.
Italy‘s sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora on Thursday confirmed the top flight, which was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, can continue from June 20.
The Coppa Italia semi-final second legs and final will be held in the week leading up to that date, when it is intended league games will be held behind closed doors.
Cellino has been outspoken in his opposition to resuming football during a health crisis that has seen more than 231,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Italy and over 33,000 deaths.
He has now branded plans to resume 2019-20 as a “crazy decision”, telling the BBC on Thursday: “It’s too much for the players.
“We stopped [training] for two months. It is dangerous to restart it playing three games a week. So, I’m worried about injuries and the hot weather, which is going to be terrible in Italy, more than Germany.”
However, Udinese and Nigeria defender William Troost-Ekong expressed his belief that the proposed restart had already provided a boost for players and staff across Italy.
The 26-year-old stated: “It’s lifted everybody’s spirits, As long as we can do it in the right way without too many risks and setting the right example for the country, I think it’s a good thing to be doing.”
The Serie A title race was very much in the balance before play was stopped in March, with just a point separating reigning champions Juventus and second place Lazio at the top of the table.
Inter are currently nine points adrift of the summit in third with a game in hand, while Atalanta sit three points clear of Roma in the race for the final Champions League spot.
Earlier this month, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) set a 20 August deadline for the 2019-20 season to reach its natural conclusion.
The German Bundesliga was the first of Europe’s top-five leagues to resume, with the Premier League planning to return on June 17 and La Liga also hoping to be back underway in the coming weeks.
As it stands, Ligue 1 is the only competition among the continent’s elite to have cancelled all fixtures, following the French prime minister’s announcement that all sporting events in the country will remain on hold until September.
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