ROME – In the last assembly of the Lega Serie A there was not only talk of a hypothetical resumption of the championship in early May, but also of the theme that is most dear to the clubs: the salaries of the players.
The stop of football in Italy, as well as in the rest of Europe, was a dutiful act in light of the spread of the coronavirus but represented enormous damage both for the football clubs and for the companies that held the TV rights of the matches.
The clubs are at risk of not collecting the last installment of the TV rights of this season, while Sky and Dazn are suffering enormous damage because in this period of championship and cup breaks they are offering a limited service to their subscriptions.
Many of these subscribers have started practices to cancel their subscriptions because there is a real risk that football will remain still for months. What is the point of paying months of subscription without following any sporting event?
For this reason the Serie A clubs have clamored not to pay the salaries of the players of March (and perhaps of April if the competitive activity should only resume in May …) because at the moment they are the only ones who are not having a damage from an economic point of view even if they have actually stopped working since there are neither training nor competitions.
Damiano Tommasi , president of the Italian footballers association, was interviewed on the subject.
The former Italian national team midfielder has not gone too far. Here are his statements to the ANSA microphones.
“The issue of the sustainability of the football system during and after this global crisis is obviously a subject of extreme interest for all those who live in this system, including footballers.
We all have the interest that the economic balance is preserved and for this reason we must evaluate all the elements of the moment.
Loss of revenue, postponement of competitions, cancellation of events, government contributions, federal aid, support from international institutions. All these elements will tell us what the role of the players will be. "
Shortly afterwards, the coach of the National Roberto Mancini spoke on the subject during the radio broadcast 'Un giorno da pecora' on Radio 1 Rai. His declarations are reported by the Ansa.
“Don't pay the players' salaries during this stop? I do not know. You have to see, football has stopped like all sports: unless you can start again in the next six months, the discussion is different.
Otherwise the players instead of quitting in May will do so in July and the months that have not played in this way recover them later.
Now football takes second place. It has a lot of effect to see what is happening, the people who are missing from loved ones, I hope it will be resolved soon, it's all terrible.
Sorry that we can't play but today the most important thing is to solve this situation. Once resolved, it can start all over and you can go to play in June.
Workouts in April? Not knowing all the situations, it's a bit difficult, players will need training before starting to play again.
There are teams that have been stopped for a long time, but in 10-15 days it can be resumed. It is an anomalous situation that nobody has ever experienced – he concludes -. Then if you recover the matches will be really close "(source Ansa).
Source: Blitz Quotidiano