Italy’s footballers’ union (AIC) on Tuesday slammed the government’s decision not to allow a return to training for team sports while easing coronavirus restrictions for individual athletes.
Prime Minister
Giuseppe Conte has announced that individual athletes can train from May 4, but
team sports, including football, must wait until at least May 18.
The AIC said the
decision left footballers “perplexed and surprised”.
“The idea seems
discriminatory, even illogical to let individual sporting disciplines enter
training grounds, but not professional footballers and other athletes
registered for team disciplines,” the AIC, headed by former Italian
international Damiano Tommasi, said in a statement.
“The rule also
risks aggravating and not containing the risk.
“For professional
athletes this phase of training after such a long period of enforced stop is
necessary to avoid injuries and be ready to start training in groups from May
18.”
Italy’s 20
top-flight clubs have voted unanimously to complete the league season which has
been on hold since March 9, but the final decision will be down to the
government.
In France, Prime
Minister Edouard Philippe announced Tuesday that professional football, rugby
and other sports cannot resume until the end of the summer.
Italian Sports
Minister Vincenzo Spadafora defended his government’s cautious approach as
Italy grapples with a virus which has killed over 27,000 people in the country.
“The prudence we
are having concerning football is what still leaves a glimmer of hope of
resuming the championship,” Spadafora wrote on Facebook.
“The alternative is
to do as France did, to say that football stops here.
“Everything will
depend on the evolution of the health crisis and our ability between now and
May 4 to respect the rules.
“If we think that
from May 4 it’s all over and we can resume anything without respecting the
rules and take a whole series of precautions, we are wrong and we risk finding
ourselves in a worse situation than before.”
