The president of Lega Serie A, Ezio Maria Simonelli, spoke this morning on Radio Anch’io Lo Sport, addressing various current topics after the first matches of the season. Among the main points, the announcement of the date of the Supercoppa Italiana and the new refereeing changes introduced in the league.

Regarding the Supercoppa, Simonelli confirmed that “the date will be before Christmas, as for the venue there are still some options that we will reveal in a few days, there are various proposals on the table of the League Council.” The president then added that the competition “is 50-50 between Italy and abroad, but it is something necessary to increase revenues and consequently sign higher quality players.”

On the topic of the new refereeing rules, the head of the League explained: “Orsato and Messina explained to us that the approach will be different, there will be more room for play and less focus on ‘soft penalties’ and minor fouls. We will draw conclusions later, the important thing is consistency in judgment and that it is the same for everyone. I trust Orsato and Messina, but it’s too early for judgments. We held a meeting to explain the new rules and the logic behind them. Little by little, I believe the public will adapt as well.”

Regarding the calendars and the break only after the fifth matchday, Simonelli commented: “The calendars are organized by FIFA and UEFA. As a fan, I like having five matchdays right away rather than having two and then stopping, but that’s a subjective opinion.”

The president then addressed the issue of the cost of Italian and foreign players: “There is a bill at our request to make the purchase of Italians and foreigners equivalent. The rule is cost-free for the State, it already applies to other sectors. It would simply mean less expense for our clubs. Small things that the government can do to help Italian players.”

On league matches abroad, he stated: “Matches abroad serve to promote our football. I understand that for the fan it’s not ideal, but for the movement, appearing on other stages is an opportunity. Our football is not in such bad shape. We have a squad value second only to the Premier League, ahead of Spain and Germany, where the top players are concentrated in a few teams. To close the gap with other leagues, the area where we need to grow the most is revenue from abroad. We certainly will not attempt to play league matches abroad this year.”

Finally, on the stadium situation: “I have to believe that we will unlock things. We are objectively behind, we shouldn’t have waited for Euro 2032, we could have done much more. I was in Frosinone for the first match of the season, the stadium is small but very beautiful and from a safety point of view it is also very secure for flows. Building new stadiums is positive for the image and also to avoid problems between fan bases.”

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