Coronavirus: Sampdoria president says Serie A season ´must end here´

Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero said the Serie A season “must end here” as it would be pointless to restart the league without fans amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Serie A was suspended indefinitely last month due to the spread of COVID-19, and authorities have insisted they will not even consider resuming action until it is safe to do so.

It remains to be seen if and when the 2019-20 campaign returns but matches behind closed doors are almost a certainty in Italy, where more than 17,600 people have died from coronavirus.

“Let’s organise ourselves to say that this championship must end here and now,” Ferrero told Telenord.

“I say it with a heavy heart, because I do want to resume, but only when I can see our beautiful stadium with fans beating their drums.

“I saw Sampdoria-Verona behind closed doors and it hurt my soul to see it played in silence. How can you celebrate a result in that desolate landscape?

“Why bother playing a game without fans, the colours all around, the noise and cheering, this is football, this is entertainment and 90 minutes of pure adrenaline. A game without fans, what even is it?”

 Sarà una #Pasqua insolita per il mondo intero. E lo sarà pure per i bambini dell’@OspedaleGaslini. A causa dell’emergenza #COVID19 non sarà infatti possibile continuare una tradizione che va avanti dal 1978 e che li riguarda molto da vicino…  pic.twitter.com/5xwnMs1Pet

— U.C. Sampdoria (@sampdoria) April 7, 2020

The last Serie A game before the league’s postponement was on March 9 – Sassuolo defeated Brescia 3-0.

Sampdoria were 16th and only a point above the relegation zone after 25 games when the Serie A came to a halt last month.