© EuroFootball.com
The president of the Italian Football Federation Luca Pancalli confirmed that the "Serie A" and "Serie B" championships will be extended over the weekend, but many matches will have to take place without spectators due to the new laws issued by the country's government to combat violence in football.
"I think it would be a mistake not to start again. It would also be a mistake not to take advantage of the positivity that has emerged in recent days, with everyone fully understanding their responsibility. From now on, we cannot give in to hooliganism," said L. Pancalli.
As expected, the "Serie A" championship will be extended starting from the 23rd round of matches, so the postponed games from last weekend will be played sometime later - most likely in April. However, in February there will be no evening matches in the championship, and all games will be played after lunch.
According to the new laws, fans will not be allowed to have any flares, smoke bombs, or rockets 24 hours before and after matches, the detention time of suspected hooligans has been extended, and those who refuse arrest could face increased punishment from 5 to 15 years in prison. Clubs are urged to create security groups, and journalists are advised to abide by the rules of the ethics code and not to fuel passions excessively before sporting events.
However, the biggest headache for clubs now is stadiums, as those that do not meet the requirements according to the new laws will have to remain closed. Safety requirements were established in 2005 by the so-called "Pisanu" law, but until now it has been practically ignored.
Currently, only four "Serie A" clubs' stadiums fully meet the safety requirements - Siena's "Artemio Franchi", Palermo's "Renzo Barbera", and Rome's and Turin's Olympic Stadiums, as well as Genoa's "Luigi Ferraris" and Cagliari's "Sant'Elia". This means that matches cannot take place in all other arenas, including the famous Milan's "San Siro".
Clubs expressed dissatisfaction with this decision and requested that at least season ticket holders be allowed to attend matches, but on Thursday, after inspecting each stadium, the bans were confirmed.
Over the weekend, spectators will not be allowed in Milan, Bergamo, Florence, and Messina for "Serie A" matches, while fans will be absent from the stadiums of Brescia, where Marius Stankevicius plays, Napoli, Pescara, Trieste, Lecce, and Modena for "Serie B" matches.
The closure of the "San Siro" stadium may also affect the "Milan" and "Inter" clubs, competing in the Champions League. They have already ordered reconstruction works, but these may only be completed in autumn, so both famous teams may be forced to play without spectators or relocate elsewhere.
It is believed that "Inter" is considering the possibility of playing against "Valencia" in Genoa or Palermo, while "Milan" may host the match against Glasgow "Celtic" in France or Switzerland.
