Two amendments to the Quater Aid Decree - already known asthe "football savers" or even better “save Serie A” – could, if approved, make many local clubs breathe a huge sigh of relief. One of these is also signed by the new senator of Molise Claudio Lotito, who is also the president of Lazio.
The first is a bipartisan proposal (Fi, FdI, Pd, M5S, Autonomie and Misto) which allows the payment in 60 installments of tax and social security contributions due on 22 December. The second concerns none other than i tv rights.
Payments in installments over 5 years, what the proposal provides
The first amendment to the Aiuti Quater decree gives the possibility to sports federations, associations and clubs, and therefore also to Serie A clubs, to pay in 60 rate monthly tax and social security payments suspended until 22 December. The first three installments must be paid within this deadline, while the others can be spread over a period of five years. In numbers it is almost 500 million payments expiring on December 22, which risk causing at least two Serie A teams to go bankrupt.
Not only that, the proposal provides also that the sums must be paid without penalties and tax interests but also "without criminal and sporting sanctions".
TV rights: licenses extended up to 5 years
The second proposal, co-signed by the president of Lazio and senator of Forza Italia, Claudio Lotito, concerns TV rights and plans to amend the Melandri law, lengthening it from 3 to The duration of the license agreements for TV rights is 5 years of football championships, including Serie A. In detail, it is proposed that the duration of the contracts relating to the three-year period 2021-2024 "may be extended up to a maximum of two years". Translated, if the amendment passes, Dazn could benefit from two more years of exclusivity.
The political controversy has already come alive, with the leader of Italia Viva, Matthew Renzi, who states: "If there is a measure to support professional football teams, after all the crap that clubs have done, not just one, I will ask to intervene in the Chamber and I will forcefully say that giving them money is a shame" . It should also be considered that a few weeks ago the Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi said: "There will be no installments".
