Serie A is back: What to expect starting June 20

The Serie A season will resume on June 20 after the Italian government gave them the go-ahead. What will the league look like once it returns?

After being on hiatus since mid-March because of the coronavirus, the Italian soccer season will finally resume next month. The Coppa Italia semifinals will be contested on June 13, while Serie A will resume a week later.

The decision came Thursday after Italy’s Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora, the league’s 20 clubs and players union reps met to discuss what a restart would look like and the medical protocols that would be implemented to avoid further spread of the virus.

“It was a very useful meeting and, as we had said from the start, soccer was always going to resume when we had the conditions to ensure safety. … Italy is getting back on its feet and it is only right that football should do the same,” he told reporters.

The Coppa Italia is midway through the semifinals. Napoli defeated Inter Milan 1-0 on the road in the first leg, while AC Milan and Juventus played to a 1-1 draw. The final would be played on June 17.

In Serie A, meanwhile, there are 12 rounds of games to be played after the season was suspended on March 9. In addition, four other matches from matchday 25 that had been previously postponed as a result of the virus’ spread across northern Italy also need to be played. Juventus, bidding for a record-extending ninth straight scudetto, holds a one-point edge over Lazio.

Serie A return: No fans in the stands

Like the Bundesliga, no fans will be allowed to attend games. That means matches played in empty stadiums, but plenty of soccer action for fans to watch from home.

Teams had agreed earlier this month to resume competition on June 13 in empty stadiums. Following a government decree banning sports until June 14, the Italian soccer federation announced it would comply with that order. A compromise was reached that included no spectators for the foreseeable future.

Serie A return: Playoffs as Plan B

While the notion of holding playoffs to determine a champion had been floated before, teams rejected that plan in the weeks after the league closed down.

As part of Thursday’s announcement, Spadafora said there is a contingency plan should there be another stoppage: playoffs. Should the league be unable to resume in time to conclude by early August (to make room for European competition), Plan C would mean leaving the standings as is.

Serie A return: Later kickoff times

The league is still working through kickoff times with the players’ union. Late spring and summer means higher temperatures. Players have complained that kickoff times prior to 4:30 p.m. would mean having to play under the searing sun.

As a result, games will again be staggered to accommodate TV rights holders. Instead of games being contested as early as noon and throughout the mid-afternoon., the new kickoff times will likely be 5 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 9 p.m. local time.