Italy to allow fans inside football stadiums by season end

Italy was the first of the major European leagues to suspend its league for an indefinite period owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, back in March. It was only recently that the organizers decided to open shop, with the first set of matches to be played on June 13 in front of empty stands to curb the spread of the virus. Even though Italy is one of the most affected countries by the health crisis, the government is seeking ways to bring back fans to the stadiums by the end of the league in July.

“It’s possible that we could discuss it with the scientific-technical committee, Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadafora and Minister for Health Roberto Speranza. The statistics that come in are going to be very helpful and it’s already a good sign that we are moving towards full freedom of movement between regions,” said Alessandro Zampa, undersecretary for Health.

“We’ll evaluate the pandemic curve and if it does get lower, we can imagine that for the final part of the season, with the efforts of the clubs, we could play games with a partial reopening of the stands. If we continue with the curve as it’s going now, we really could return to a normal life in this country,” added the official.

The Bundesliga was the first major European league to re-start following the break, following which other leagues are following its footsteps. Apart from the Serie A, the Spanish La Liga is slated to begin on June 11, while the English Premier is also likely to restart later this month.