The dispute over contact training continues, as Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora delays the introduction of group rules and Serie A clubs avoid them anyway until the protocol is changed.
Serie A teams were meant to begin contact training in groups from Monday May 18, as per the latest Government decree.
However, as is so often the case, the situation quickly descended into confusion and even more chaos.
The dispute over contact training continues, as Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora delays the introduction of group rules and Serie A clubs avoid them anyway until the protocol is changed.
Serie A teams were meant to begin contact training in groups from Monday May 18, as per the latest Government decree.
However, as is so often the case, the situation quickly descended into confusion and even more chaos.
Minister for Sport Spadafora told news agency ANSA that the new guidelines are not yet valid, because they haven’t been signed off by the CTS (technical scientific committee).
That probably won’t happen until tomorrow, which means individual training is still the only approved approach with social distancing, no contact and no passing of the football.
However, the vast majority of Serie A clubs had planned to avoid contact training anyway until a different medical protocol is agreed.
The Government and FIGC agreed on Wednesday that if one player or member of staff gets COVID-19, the entire group must go into a 15-day quarantine.
Serie A clubs, their medical staff and the Players’ Association today drew up a different version, which will be presented to the FIGC tomorrow and then on to the Government.
That will require an evaluation by the CTS, so we might not see genuine contact training until the week after.
The clubs want to follow the German, Spanish and English model, which would have only the individual isolated if he tests positive for coronavirus, with the rest of the group given double tests.
With no agreement yet over training, let alone the rules for actually beginning games, it seems increasingly unlikely fixtures will resume from June 13.