Strike threat to Serie A

Italian football's governing body may have no choice but to postpone the first round of Serie A games because a new collective bargaining agreement has not been signed.


Emergency meetings were held on Thursday in Milan in the hope that the Lega Serie A and the Italian Players' Union (AIC) would reach common ground.


The players have threatened to strike if a new agreement is not signed before Saturday, when the season is due to get under way.


The AIC said the Lega Serie A had still not signed the agreement reached with players after intense negotiations last season, when strikes were twice narrowly averted. The Lega Serie A requested changes to the players' proposed agreement.


The AIC were especially unhappy about clubs trying to force players to move in the last year of their contracts, and with coaches forcing unwanted players to train away from the first team.


An old collective agreement expired at the end of the 2009-10 season and talks for its renewal continued throughout the 2010-11 campaign and this summer.


Earlier on Thursday, Abete gave the league and the AIC a 24-hour deadline to reach an agreement before moving the first round of Serie A games to a later date.