The Italian Players’ Association has issued a statement warning that it will not stand up for financial benefits that would encourage clubs to avoid paying their employees.
“The AIC today analysed the Federation rulings and shared our great shock and embarrassment at the decisions made,” read a statement according to Football Italia.
Yesterday, the FIGC passed a series of decisions, including measures to help Series A, B and C clubs tackle the financial challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the attempt to relax the restrictions that ban a club from registering for the new season if they have not paid their employees in full can backfire. The Players’ Association (AIC) fears that it leaves too many loopholes that can be exploited:
“There is immense disappointment in learning that clubs from all professional levels of the game can register for the 2020-21 season even if they only paid one month’s salary during the period March-June 2020.
“These are plans that we simply cannot accept and will damage the financial security of most professional football players in Italy.
“The Federation intends to check in August only that the clubs have paid salaries for March, April and May 2020, with the provision that for March and April, they only need to prove that May 2020 was paid.”
The problem is that the clubs benefit from the uncertainty in the event of a strike from players and staff, which would be especially detrimental to those in Serie C who do not receive as much as in the top flight.
“This is frankly a stretch, seeing as in March there were games in all three professional divisions, while during the lockdown all the athletes continued to undergo daily training sessions from home on the indications of their club.”
“In light of this, the Players’ Association hopes to see the adoption of a system that favours collective agreements that can resolve problems rather than foment legal action.”
