Serie A To Resume June 20, As Italy Government Gives Soccer League Green Light

There’s light at the end of the tunnel for fans of Italy’s top soccer league.

Italy sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora confirmed Thursday Serie A will resume play June 20, according to The BBC. The decision to do so followed a meeting between Spadafora, the presidents of Serie A clubs and the Italian Football Federation, Players’ Association representatives and Italian sports doctors.

Serie A voted earlier this month to to resume the season June 13 but pushed back the restart date by one week after consultation with the government and other stakeholders. Serie A now has until Aug. 20 to play the final 12 rounds of the season.

Nevertheless, Serie A likely will be the fourth of Europe’s major soccer leagues to resume. Germany’s Germany’s returned May 16, Spain’s La Liga received government approval to resume June 8, and England’s Premier League announced Thursday it will begin play again June 17. France’s Ligue 1 cancelled the remainder of its season in April after the French government banned sports events until September.

Serie A suspended play March 9 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Juventus leads the standings by one point over second-place Lazio.

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