Serie A are adding some excitement to the Scudetto and relegation races as, from now on, it will be decided in a single-elimination playoff when two teams finish with the same amount of points. The council of the FIGC, the Italian Football Association, approved the modification Tuesday. The clubs’ presidents had originally proposed it.
According to Calcio e Finanza, the League will do away with the traditional tie-breakers in such instance. The two sides in question will battle it out in an additional match. In case of a tie after 90 minutes, it will end in a penalty kick shoot-out with no extra time. If three or more outfits conclude the season on a par, only two of them off will access the extra game based on the classifica avulsa decided by the standard parameters such as points in head-to-head matches, goal difference, et cetera.
Serie A has had just one title-deciding playoff in its history. It happened in 1964, when Bologna topped Helenio Herrera’s Grande Inter two-nil, winning the 7th and last Scudetto of their history. The Nerazzurri had beaten Real Madrid in the Champions League final four days prior.
The body also approved the dates for the peculiar 2022/2023 season. The top league will start on August 14th and end on June 4th. It also ratified the permanent implementation of the five substitutions, as the International Football Association Board allowed. They were originally a temporary measure introduced during the pandemic that was supposed to last until Qatar 2022.