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| Friday, September 6, 2002 14:27 EST |
Teams reject latest pay-per-view TV offer
[Reuters]
MILAN -- Eight top-flight Italian clubs
without pay-per-view television contracts are threatening to
further delay the start of the Serie A season after rejecting
the latest contract offer.
Italy's two pay-tv platforms, Telepiu and Stream, raised
their offers to the consortium of smaller Serie A clubs to
around 52 million euros, but the eight clubs are demanding 10
million each for rights to live coverage of their home games.
The championship was due to start on September 1 but was
delayed for two weeks due to the failure to reach agreement over
television rights.
Although the Italian Football League has signed a three-year
deal with state broadcaster RAI for the highlights to the top
two professional divisions, the eight clubs say they are not
ready to start the season until their own deals are resolved.
"In the light of the new situation ... it is impossible to
consent to a correct carrying out of the matches," said Plus
Media Trading, the consortium of eight Serie A and three Serie B
clubs in a statement.
The eight Serie A clubs are Atalanta, Brescia, Chievo, Como,
Empoli, Modena, Perugia and Piacenza.
The consortium has won the support of AS Roma president
Franco Sensi who is insisting that the league will not start on
September 14.
"The championship will not start in this manner. That is
what the eight clubs without contracts have said and Roma is
with them. In this situation we are not playing," Sensi told the
daily Corriere della Sera.
On Tuesday both the Football League and the Italian Football
Federation insisted that the championship will commence as
planned.
League president Adriano Galliani told those clubs
threatening not to play that they will have 3-0 defeats imposed
on them if they fail to take to the field.
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