By Andrea Caropreso
Index
SOS in Serie C. The cry for help has already been launched but, as often happens in Italy, it might go unheard until the next disaster. Let’s reconstruct everything. Taranto and Turris, in the middle of the season, were excluded from the league due to financial reasons. In fact, players hadn’t been paid for several weeks or, in better cases, received their salaries with considerable delays.
A story already seen, opening the issue of football sustainability in our country, especially concerning lower leagues. Suddenly, what many had already predicted comes true. Exclusion from the league, risk of bankruptcy, and fans’ dreams crushed overnight. An alarm that translates into the need for reform, so that this farce can really be the last one (in a long series).
Economic difficulties
Point deductions are common in Serie C, all for the same financial reasons. Triestina (-5) and Novara (-2) in Group A, but also Lucchese (-6), Spal (-3), Rimini and Ternana (-2) in Group B. Almost as if, in this league, court decisions matter more than the pitch results.
Hence, the topic of economic sustainability becomes urgent again. Many of these clubs are allowed each year to register for the league without properly checking their financial condition. But that’s not all. The root issue may be elsewhere. The league’s inability to generate adequate revenue means that clubs, though (in theory) overseen by authorities, see their house of cards collapse.
The result is a farcical league. A show everyone would gladly do without, as it contradicts the values of sport. Promotion and reinstatement won’t avoid similar cases in the future. Only a serious reform can end this poor management by the League.
The need for new rules
We’ve seen it all in recent years. Ownership changes with no criteria, young players used only to avoid collapse, wasting talent. All of this shows that Italian football needs new rules.
In this regard, the FIGC has started to move in a promising direction. A reform foresees excluded clubs restarting from two lower divisions. This would help reorganize financially in categories with more sustainable costs. However, this seems just the first step toward cleaning up this “polluted” football.
In this respect, the work of president Matteo Marani has been (and will be) significant. In previous years, similar cases were even more frequent.
Gravina’s words
“We talked,” Gravina explained, “about greater controls, even on club ownerships. We’ll demand real guarantees. We’re assessing it legally. We can’t allow this to happen again.”
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The Federation president had already said in the past that Italian football could no longer tolerate such cases. After all, a crumbling Serie C, with 7-0 matches due to teams like Taranto fielding very young players, pleases no one. And it has no parallel among the top European leagues. Was it really the last case? We still have a few doubts…
By Andrea Caropreso
