Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora confirmed the Government CTS has finally given the all-clear for Serie A to start group training after agreeing to the modified medical protocol, so a decision on fixtures will be made on May 28.
Multiple sources this evening claim the CTS (Government’s technical scientific committee panel of experts) has approved the new version of the medical protocol.
Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora confirmed the Government CTS has finally given the all-clear for Serie A to start group training after agreeing to the modified medical protocol, so a decision on fixtures will be made on May 28.
Multiple sources this evening claim the CTS (Government’s technical scientific committee panel of experts) has approved the new version of the medical protocol.
That was drawn up by the Lega Serie A, association of club medics, Players’ Association and others who will have to enact the protocol during contact training.
Rather than a preventative training retreat of at least 15 days to begin with – something many clubs said was impossible to organise for such a large group of players and staff – they will instead ramp up the testing.
According to La Repubblica, there will be two swabs in the first 24 hours, then another every four days and blood tests every 14 days.
Previous versions were rejected unless the entire group was quarantined for 15 days in case of a positive test.
The changes made managed to find common ground, as if a player does test positive, the individual will be quarantined, while the rest of the group can continue to train with ramped-up testing.
This all guarantees teams can begin group training, but when it comes to organising Serie A matches, Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora warned it involves keeping a close eye on the pandemic curve in the country.
“This seems like excellent news, so the training sessions can resume,” Minister for Sport Spadafora told Rai Sport.
“The FIGC was ready to review the first proposal. There is also clarification on the timing of quarantine and the isolation of any players who test positive.
“Once again, it’s crucial that the swabs are not taken away from the needs of the general public. We have been able to reach this agreement on the quarantine because the situation overall has improved, allowing us to review the rules.
“It’s only right that during a period when all Italians are starting to ease the lockdown measures, football too should be allowed to resume in safety.
“By May 28, we will be able to decide the date for when Serie A can resume and if it can resume. I called a meeting for May 28 with FIGC President Gabriele Gravina, Lega Serie A President Paolo Dal Pino and all the other components. That is when we’ll have the statistics in front of us and can decide.”
A provisional date has been mentioned for the week beginning June 14.