“From a sporting point of view it was a very beautiful championship, the Napoli it is the fourth different team to have won the championship in four years, but also the fourth in over 20. A very important result to increase the competitiveness of the championship". These are the words of Lorenzo Casini, Chairman of the Alloy Serie A, guest of Radio Anch'io Sport on Rai Radio 1.
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“We introduced the play-off which disappeared in recent years and as if on purpose we have the play-off for salvation between Spezia and Verona, which was missing since the 2004-05 season - he added -. And then I like to remember the results in Europe. Roma was unlucky with penalties, but we reached three European finals, which hadn't happened since 1990."
About the playoff between Spezia e Verona, “it will be played on Sunday 11 June at 20:45. As for the venue, we have called an extraordinary League council for this afternoon. We have asked the 20 associated teams for availability for the stadium, Lecce, Udine, Florence and Reggio Emilia have responded positively. We will evaluate everything with the Ministry of the Interior and the Security Observatory”.
Casini: “There is too much gambling, but clubs want a 20-team Serie A”
As regards the number of games disproportionate, Casini agrees that "there is too much playing, the coaches and players themselves say so, but it is a problem that must be addressed by all the parties. If we look at FIFA, UEFA and the national championships, the tendency instead is to fill spaces to play. Another negative effect is that friendlies are no longer played, which allow for experimentation with potential new rules of the game".
On the reform of the format of the championship: “The number of matches is very high, Fiorentina is the team that will play the most this year, 60 in total. I think Inter will reach 57, the same number as City and Real Madrid. The problem is that if the national championships reduce the matches, then it is not that the overall number of matches decreases. This is why we need to coordinate, it is not a problem that can be addressed by a single State. Let us also remember that both the Premier League and La Liga have 20 teams. What the teams have decided for now is to maintain the 20-team format for a series of reasons. First of all an economic issue: more teams ensure greater overall revenues”.
"The second reason is historical, geographical: one of Bari and Cagliari, two important clubs, will go up, Genoa, another historic club, has gone up. With a 20-man championship, it is more likely to find representativeness. And then there is a position of the leagues in looking at what happens at an international level. The point here is who takes the first step".
Casini: “TV rights? Now a waiting phase. Naples a virtuous example”
Chapter tv rights: “Yesterday with De Laurentiis we only talked about the party. The issue of the rights tender is underway, the deadline to submit offers is June 14. Then next week this process will begin, which includes several steps including private negotiations with those who submitted offers. Now there is anticipation. Sports results in Europe help. The free-to-air match is among the packages, as is the option of the channel or of having an operator who takes days, Boxing Day model days in the Premier. There are many options to ensure that the market responds positively to all these proposals”.
Said the reform of Coppa Italia is complicated by the increase in matches and the possibility that the VAR cannot be used in some systems, Casini, in view of the next championship, reveals that “it is likely that the asymmetrical calendar will be confirmed next year too. For the first week of July we should have the calendar ready. On the windows, we would like to improve: last year we introduced the eight Premier League-style windows, we will try to get down to seven”.
On the topic of debts of the club: "It concerns many clubs, but we also have some virtuous ones, for example Napoli. One topic that UEFA has shown interest in is the introduction of a salary cap that is even more pervasive than the one developed now. For now, UEFA has indicated a maximum spending limit for all salaries, an overall spending that must stop at 70% of the budget. A salary cap that indicates the salary of the individual footballer, an American model, is being studied. It could lead to a further reduction in debt". Finally, Casini focuses on the second teams: “We are working with Lega Pro to increase the number of second teams of Serie A clubs. We are confident that there will be at least one more for next season”.
Article published on 5 June 2023 - 10:20
