Milan: Cristiano Ronaldo has been recalled from Portugal by Juventus. Serie A clubs got back to individual training Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown. However, there are still doubts whether the Serie A will restart.
The interior ministry’s has given the go-ahead for players to return to club training facilities two weeks ahead of schedule. It has offered fans hope that the 2019-20 season might yet be saved.
The government was responding after regions that had avoided the worst of the pandemic took matters into their own hands. They gave permission to clubs to open their facilities for players to train on their own.
But sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora has warned that although individual training can resume, group training must wait until May 18. And with Italy still in the grip of the pandemic which has killed nearly 29,000, it is uncertain whether matches will be able to restart.
“Nothing has changed compared to what I have always said about football,” said Spadafora. “Team training will not resume before May 18. Resumption of the championship, for now, is not really discussed,” he added.
Everyone knows about Spadafora’s relationship with professional football. The ‘Corriere dello Sport’ daily Monday created a front page photo of the minister with a dagger in his hand about to burst a ball. It headlined the picture ‘Attack on Calcio’.
Officially all 20 Serie A teams have unanimously backed a return to competition. However, reservations have been expressed from clubs such as Brescia and Torino. However, once should not forget that these clubs are situated in northern Italy, the part worst hit by the virus.
Torino president Urbano Cairo conceded there were ‘divergent opinions’. “Everyone is assessing whether the restart is possible and it is normal, even if the last word will be down to the institutions,” he told ‘Radio Anch’io’.
Some of the clubs with title aspirations from the less affected areas of the country have been talking about going back to training for weeks.
Sassuolo became the first team to resume individual training Monday, with Bologna set to follow on Tuesday. Lazio and Roma will also start training after their players and staff undergo coronavirus tests.
Champions Juventus have recalled their overseas players, including Ronaldo. The player is currently in the Portuguese island of Madeira. He will have to spend two weeks in quarantine.
Agencies
