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Serie A considering playoffs, other options to resolve season amid coronavirus

By Clemente Lisi

A stadium steward looks at the empty Juventus stadium before the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs Inter Milan which will be played behind closed doors, in Turin on March 8, 2020. - Italy on March 8, 2020, had the second-highest coronavirus toll in the world, after reporting a sharp jump in both deaths and number of infected people, according to an AFP count. The number of fatalities shot up by 133 to 366 on March 8, while the number of infections rose by a single-day record of 1,492 to hit 7,375, its civil protection agency said. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)
A stadium steward looks at the empty Juventus stadium before the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs Inter Milan which will be played behind closed doors, in Turin on March 8, 2020. - Italy on March 8, 2020, had the second-highest coronavirus toll in the world, after reporting a sharp jump in both deaths and number of infected people, according to an AFP count. The number of fatalities shot up by 133 to 366 on March 8, while the number of infections rose by a single-day record of 1,492 to hit 7,375, its civil protection agency said. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Serie A is considering a number of options, including playoffs, to determine a champion after the season was suspended because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Serie A officials are considering implementing playoffs to determine a champion this season after the season came to a stop because of the coronavirus.

A meeting on Tuesday between league officials and the Italian government to discuss options comes a day after the season was put on hold, along with all sporting events, through April 3.

The most likely options seem to be ending the season without a champion, assigning the scudetto to the current leaders, delaying the season if possible or implementing some kind of playoff.

Since there is mounting fear that there will be no time to complete the 12 matchdays remaining in the season by May 24, the league is considering utilizing playoffs to determine a champion and which teams are relegated.

As a result, the end of the season could be pushed to May 31, right before the start of the European Championship that starts in Rome on June 12 with Italy’s game against Turkey.

Juventus are currently in first place in Serie A with 63 points, followed by Lazio at 62 and Inter Milan at 54.

“Without any order of priority, an option would be not assigning the scudetto and consequently informing UEFA of the teams qualified for Europe,” the league said in a statement. “Another would be referring to the table as it stands up until the moment the season was interrupted. A third and final hypothesis would be to organize playoffs for the title of champion of Italy and play-outs to decide relegation into Serie B.”

No details were made public regarding the playoff system or how many clubs would be involved.

The league said it will make a final decision by March 23.

Italy has been placed on total lockdown as of Tuesday after thousands of people tested positive for the virus.

Ninety-seven people have died of the novel coronavirus since Sunday in Italy, bringing its total number of deaths to 463. The country has nearly 10,000 cases so far, the most of any country outside of China.

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For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.

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