Goodbye to the growth decree in football. No more concessions to athletes coming from abroad. The Italian League and footballers in revolution: “less competitive and less relevant activities”

It sparked debate, as with football, between fans for and against, but in the end there was nothing that could be done: extend the “Growth Decree” that would have extended benefits and tax deductions to athletes from abroad who play. In our country. According to what Corriere della Sera The removal of the rule from Milleproroghe was approved by the government yesterday after a “heated discussion” in the Cabinet. “There was no exemption. It was talked about but then it was decided not to do anything,” declared Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. While it was his colleague in the Northern League, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini, who took a hard line, describing the measure as “ Unethical”.

Italian League: “Surprise and concern”

The Italian League commented in a note: “We are surprised and concerned by the rumors regarding the decision that the Council of Ministers would have taken not to approve any extension of the tax regime for migrant sports workers.” The only result will be one that is diametrically opposed to the desired result – he concludes -. Failure to expand will actually lead to a decrease in the competitiveness of the teams, with the consequent decrease in revenues, fewer resources allocated to nurseries, fewer related activities, and therefore also less revenues for the treasury.”

Reaction of the players and a message from the Assocalciatori

The Football Association wrote a letter to the Minister of Economy, Giorgetti, and Sports, Aboudi, to express its opposition. “The reasons for our refusal are certainly not related to economic interests, but rather to the need to protect the talent and sporting heritage that Italian footballers represent. We have sent our report to the Ministers which depicts the current presence of Italian and foreign footballers in the Italian League. A worrying fact emerges in U21 athletes with a higher recruitment rate of foreign footballers than Italians, and in some cases we find ourselves facing teams made up of only 90% foreign players. We believe that only by reversing this trend and re-establishing competitive parity between Italian and foreign athletes can we grow as a system, especially as a function of our national team.”

Consequences (also in the transfer market)

As he always emphasizes today Corriere della Sera Without tax benefits, it would be difficult to bring (and keep) champions like Guerrassi to Serie A, but now it costs a lot, the same goes for Hojbjerg at Juve. The Lombard club is the team that attracts more than any other top team from abroad rather than Italy. Inter, bucking this trend compared to other clubs, have not been left unprepared: they have already identified and will announce the renewal of Mkhitaryan and Darmyan before the end of the year, a strategy designed to continue benefiting from tax breaks. Today, La Gazzetta dello Sport made headlines with “Football slap“. Sports Minister Aboudi – according to the sports newspaper – had made it clear that canceling the decree in this clear way would have created problems for a sector suffering due to the Covid years and due to fierce competition from foreign leagues. Maintaining this measure for two months would not have cost an exorbitant cost (about 25 million dollars) and at the same time would have allowed for a smooth exit. The two-month option was the right one, and did not bother the minister, the Italian League and all the clubs. It was not possible to pursue it.

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