Return of Serie A: The key questions

Uncertainty swirls as to whether Serie A can really return to action as Italian football bosses hope on June 13 after a two-month coronavirus suspension. Behind the united front, Italy’s 20 top-flight clubs have very different interests while Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora has been blowing hot and cold. Meanwhile, the players may be back in individual training but are themselves divided in the face of a very strict protocol required for group sessions which begin on May 18. Here AFP sport looks at the key questions over a return to ‘Calcio’ in football-mad Italy. What is the stumbling block? Lega Serie A announced on Wednesday that June 13 was the date they hoped to resume the championship, with expectations boosted the following day when the influential president of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) Giovanni Malago declared he was “99 percent” certain it would restart. But the optimism only lasted a few hours.  On Thursday evening, a press release from the League and then another from the professional players’ union (AIC) made it clear that the resumption of collective training, scheduled for Monday, remains very uncertain.  Many clubs consider that the health protocol,...