MILAN – Serie A teams will be able to start individual training sessions as of Monday amid the Covid-19 crisis, according to a letter sent by the Italian interior ministry to local authorities.
Prime minister Giuseppe Conte said last Sunday that individual training could start on May 4 and team training on May 18, only for sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora to say that athletes in individual sports could start training from May 4 and those in team sports must wait until May 18.
Spadafora's statement drew criticism and Serie A club Sassuolo on Saturday said they would allow their players to use their facilities from Monday.
Bologna, also based in the Emilia Romagna region where special permission was given for athletes in team sports to take part in training sessions on an individual basis from May 4, said players could resume training on Tuesday.
The region of Campania, which includes Naples, has also said that players can begin training. Napoli have yet to comment.
"Athletes and non athletes, of non individual disciplines, just like any citizen, are allowed to practise individual sporting activities, in private and public areas, in respect of the interpersonal safety distance of at least two metres and in respect of the ban to gather in any form," the interior ministry said in a letter to local authorities.
Serie A has been suspended since March 9 and the league and the Italian football federation (FIGC) both want to complete the season, although the Italian government says it has not yet decided whether it will give its permission to do so.