With the Serie A season postponed because of the pandemic, the Yellow and Blue supremo discussed the situation
Hellas Verona president Maurizio Setti said Italy is in a “war-like situation” as Serie A clubs try to strike a deal with players amid the coronavirus crisis.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought sport to a standstill – the 2019-20 Serie A season has been suspended since last month, with the most recent match on March 9.
There have been more than 69,300 deaths globally, with over 15,880 of those in Italy, a country which has the highest amount of fatalities in the world.
Amid negotiations with the Italian Players’ Association (AIC) over player salaries during the league postponement, Setti told Sky Sport Italia: “Our position is very simple.
“We are in a war-like situation, so we need to sit around a table with calm, intelligence and openness, finding a solution that satisfies both parties.
“What’s happening is immensely damaging for the whole world of football, so I trust there will be no problems finding a deal with my players, who are good people.”
Serie A clubs could be allowed to finish the 2019-20 season as late as October, according to Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina.
Gravina proposed May as a possible time to restart italy’s top flight, but he insisted it would be best to allow the current campaign to finish much later this year if necessary, rather than declare the season cancelled.
“It’s a hypothesis,” Gravina told RAI when asked if a September or October finish had been put forward. “At the moment, a possible date to restart could be May 17, but I want to clarify that this is only a hypothesis.
“Finishing the season would be the best way not only so the 2019-20 season is not compromised, but also to avoid compromising the 2020-21 season in any way.”
Setti added: “I hope to play again this season. Finishing the campaign would be a way also of giving joy to the population, because the Italian people are so in love with this sport.
“I hope that we can get the campaign concluded and be able to close this chapter to slowly get back to normality.”
Juventus currently lead the Serie A table by one point from Lazio, with Inter a further eight points back in third position – with a game in hand.
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