Serie A closing in on June return date

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Italyโ€™s minister for sport, Vincenzo Spadafora, said the Serie A season could resume on โ€˜June 13 or 20โ€™ following the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc globally, with the Serie A campaign also suspended in March.

A decision on the season is expected on Thursday as Serie A looks to follow in the footsteps of Germanyโ€™s Bundesliga, which resumed on 15 May.

โ€˜We are working on two possible dates to begin Serie A games, on June 13 or 20,โ€™ Spadafora told Rai TG3.

โ€˜The protocol arrived for resuming the season and it is very similar to the one that was agreed for training. On Thursday, weโ€™ll decide if and when to resume.โ€™

Defending champions Juventus were a point clear of Lazio through 26 games when the league was halted.

โ€˜This emergency has shown some critical issues in the world of football that we will face in a general reform that will happen before the end of the summer,โ€™ Spadafora said.

โ€˜Among those issues we include allowing womenโ€™s football players to become professional athletes.โ€™

Italian Footballersโ€™ Association (AIC) president Damiano Tommasi has insisted players are happy to return to action amid the coronavirus pandemic.

โ€˜If the conditions are met, the players are happy to start again,โ€™ he told Sky Sport on Sunday.

โ€˜Criticising does not mean being against the recovery. Temperatures, travel and more โ€“ the critical issues are there and we highlight them. But the desire is to play in the best possible way anyway.โ€™

Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi has also backed an imminent restart of the competition as his side look to claim a surprise league title.

โ€˜We are happy to start again. It is the wish that we finish the championship in favour of all the people who work in football and for the fans,โ€™ the Lazio head coach told Rai 2 on Sunday.

โ€˜The prerequisites are there. We coaches have all felt we want to start again safely.

โ€˜Regardless of the ranking, before the pandemic we were doing something extraordinary.โ€™

Serie Aโ€™s potential return will likely follow in the footsteps of LaLiga, with Spainโ€™s top flight now hoping to resume on 11 June with the Seville derby.