TMW – De Siervo: "In Verona, show ruined by 20 balls"

Luigi De Siervo, CEO of the Serie A League, spoke on the sidelines of the Council held today in the Milan offices:

The racism issue?
"Ours is a very tough position. We are working with the police to identify those responsible for the Verona events with the aim that these people can no longer enter an Italian stadium. And this also applies to all the events that occurred in other stadiums as well ".

Why has the president of Verona Setti downplayed what happened in the stands?
"I think President Setti wanted to represent the majority of Verona supporters and he didn't conceive how a show was ruined by twenty balls. This is the real problem. The goal of those who do football is to defend their product. I think his statement went towards the protection of the city of Verona and of the fans against attitudes carried out by a few units ".

The words of the head of the ultras of Verona?
"I read everything quickly because today we had a lot of things to do ready and I will cover everything more carefully. There are still authorities in charge of evaluating it: in any case, I believe that the position of this person is personal and he will answer directly".

The closure of the stadiums to solve the problem of racism?
"I think that's the wrong solution. The problem exists, but we have to give it the real weight. We have to figure out if 30 idiots can ruin the show for everyone else. We will do everything to eradicate this weed from our flower meadow. We can't destroy everything ".

Did political language clear this kind of racist expressions?
"I think it is a strong statement. We must try to think things through to the end. Even Juric's attempt at the end of the game has a perception of daily work that has difficulty understanding micro-group thinking. Thanks to technology it is to identify and isolate these people who destroy the value of brotherhood ".

The Mediapro proposal for TV rights?
"It has just arrived. We will analyze it tomorrow with the calm it deserves. We are happy and we take the technical time to analyze its contours. The goal is to take it to the council by the end of the month".

The piracy investigation?
"We are only at the beginning: the manhunt has begun. The authorities are tracing back all the people who have used it. We are sorry to see that in our country the rules are respected only in the face of strong manners".

At what point does the interruption of the match occur due to episodes of racism?
"I hope it never happens. I hope that we will be better at identifying the authors of these acts out of respect for the other spectators and those who enjoy our product all over the world. It is a huge image damage."

Italian football in China?
"Today we cannot bring a championship race out of our borders. We hope, however, that it can happen in the future to open up to new markets. La Liga in this sense is ahead like the NBA and the American NFL. The proposal is to have at least one game a season outside the borders, to conquer new markets ".

Sky and DAZN?
"The positive thing for us is that both platforms have reiterated their strong interest in Serie A, a central element in their projects."