The deadline to pay the Italian government €500m in tax debts expires tomorrow for Serie A clubs and various teams are in a tough position, despite government assistance.
La Repubblica details how the Italian government has amended the Budget Law to allow a large part of this €500m to be paid between now and 2027, allowing them to spread the payments across 60 instalments instead of in one lump sum.
In order to avoid criminal investigation, the Serie A clubs will need to pay 3% of the entire amount by December 31, plus the first three instalments and all the contribution and social security debts. The only club to have already paid month by month is Cremonese, Fiorentina have settled everything and Lecce have set aside the due amount, around €8.2m.
Other Serie A clubs will struggle still, despite the measures. Whilst using the instalment plan, they still must be able to immediately pay around a quarter of the total amount, around €120m. At least four or five clubs haven’t set aside a single euro for this and the teams in the most difficult, like Sampdoria and Hellas Verona, are in a tough spot.
Further help could come from the government, who could re-allow the usage of betting sponsors. Four years ago, Luigi Di Maio banned this but in 2019 betting sponsors guaranteed clubs around €50m per season in revenue.
There’s also talk of a sports fund, with a levy on the collection of bets, with the FIGC asking for 1%. Every year, betting earns around €11.8 billion, for a revenue of €303m, which would give football another €100m.