FIGC explain Scudetto play-off

By Football Italia staff

FIGC President Gabriele Gravina explains his plans for a four-team Scudetto play-off if the Serie A season cannot be finished on time due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The Government has ordered the suspension of all sporting events until April 3, as players cannot have their health and safety guaranteed in these circumstances.

“We hope that the season can be concluded as planned, because if we do resume on April 3, there are certain windows to make up for these postponed games,” said Gravina.

“I took it upon myself to launch the idea of play-offs and play-outs, helping to respect the values of sporting competition. It would involve the four top teams in the play-off for the Scudetto and the last four in the play-outs to decide relegation.

“The FIGC will then indicate to UEFA who will participate in the European competitions next season.”

The top four as things stand are Juventus, Lazio, Inter and Atalanta.

As for the bottom four, it means three out of Lecce, Genoa, SPAL and Brescia would be relegated.

The other alternatives would be to not assign the Scudetto at all, or to accept the table as it stands after 26 rounds, even though some teams have only played 25 games.

“It was a sad meeting, because we are aware that we’ve taken away something that makes Italians happy and can distract them from the current situation, but we had to show great responsibility in this decision.”

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