Fractures emerge in Serie A over TV money dispute

The representatives of six of Italy’s most esteemed football clubs (Milan, Fiorentina, Roma, Napoli, Inter and Juventus) walked out of a league meeting on Wednesday after being involved in a spat over television money with Serie A governors.

The walkout was based on the fact that these six clubs believe that their global appeal brings more eyeballs to Italian football than the other teams competing in the league and that the TV money distributed to teams in Serie A doesn’t reflect this.

It was Milan executive Adriano Galliani who spoke to Italian reporters about this. Galliani stated that there seemed to be no solution and that the six clubs that walked out represent 80% of Italian calcio fans. The number of clubs that walked out is crucial, as any decision on TV money rights would need 15 votes to pass. This is impossible, of course, with 14 clubs remaining.

Despite the differences between the six clubs - especially Juventus and Milan - they appeared to show a united front over the issue and with the meeting postponed until later in March, is this a case of big babies throwing their comforters out of the pushchair or a serious issue with how money is distributed in the league?