MILAN, 23 August 2003 — Nineteen of the 20 Serie B clubs voted yesterday to boycott Italian Cup matches and the first three rounds of the league season to protest against the addition of four teams to Italy’s second division.
The Italian soccer federation (FIGC) voted on Wednesday to expand Serie B, just days before the start of the season, hoping the move would end a relegation battle that has raged all summer in the law courts.
“It was decided not to take part in the Italian Cup matches tomorrow and not to take the field for either the first, or the second or the third weeks of the league season,” said Cagliari President Massimo Cellino after a Football League meeting.
Last season’s Serie A and B campaign kicked off two weeks late after a row over television rights. Italian Football Federation (FIGC) chief Franco Carraro had earlier sent a letter to the 19 clubs saying they risked sanctions if they did not cooperate.
“For those who do not respect the calendar, the organs of sporting justice will take steps,” the letter said, without specifying the type of punishment. The FIGC, facing huge political pressure to sort out the relegation mess, ruled that a quartet of teams slated to play in lower divisions — Catania, Genoa, Salernitana and Fiorentina — would instead join the more lucrative second division.
The FIGC’s most controversial decision was the promotion of Fiorentina, who have twice won the Serie A title. They went bankrupt last year and were demoted to the bottom of the professional Italian football pile.
Last season Fiorentina won promotion from Serie C2, but will now leapfrog Serie C1 straight to Serie B. Catania, Genoa and Salernitana were all relegated from Serie B last season but have now been reprieved.
Spanish League in Chaos Over TV Rights
Meanwhile, Spanish football lurched toward crisis when 30 top clubs voted unanimously yesterday to postpone the start of the season over a television rights row.
The G-30, comprising eight first division and all second division clubs, will meet again on Monday to reconsider their options and chase negotiations with Sogecable, who run Spanish Canal Plus and Digital Plus.
The other 12 top division clubs, the G-12, including Real Madrid, Barcelona and La Coruna, have signed individual deals with Sogecable for much better money.
The season is set to start on Aug. 30 and the G-30 are after an improved deal that will bring then closer to the money the top clubs will receive.
The negotiations are stumbling over an 84.5 million euro ($92 million) offer by Sogecable. Another company, Phedra Sport, has offered 104 million euros ($113m) but does not have the necessary bank guarantees in place to confirm the offer.
