Serie A president Ezio Maria Simonelli addressed taxation of football, data rights, stadiums, and piracy during a Senate hearing, opposing any increase to the baseline solidarity payment ratio.

Speaking before the Seventh Commission (Culture) of the Senate, Serie A president Ezio Maria Simonelli addressed these issues, emphasizing the challenges facing Italian football and potential solutions. Simonelli stated: "We must have the courage to examine football's finances. In recent years, shareholders have injected approximately 5.3 billion euros into the system. The sport continues largely thanks to private investment, while committed costs keep rising. I compare football to a heavily indebted heavy industry, but one of strategic importance: we've done our best, but the only path forward is to increase revenue, not continue raising costs. Everyone must take on a high level of responsibility. Football represents 1% of Italy's GDP and generates 1.5 billion euros in taxes for the Italian state annually, which in turn benefits all Italian sports, including the Italian Olympic Committee and anti-doping agencies. A healthy Italian football is in the interest of the entire country, because its contribution will continue to grow, and that contribution is already substantial. Some bills address sensitive issues for Serie A, but are proposed in mutually incompatible ways. Let us not forget that Italy and Spain are the only countries where television rights management is determined by law. Current regulations require Serie A to allocate 10% of its revenue to solidarity payments: we have never contested this. What is truly controversial is increasing the solidarity payment ratio. A certain bill redefines the scope to include digital rights and additional revenue: the ratio remains unchanged, but solidarity payments will increase. First, I want to clarify what digital rights actually mean, but I must be clear that we cannot accept an increase to the baseline solidarity payment ratio; we are willing to discuss a different solidarity payment structure. System losses are currently covered by shareholders, and today we are fortunate to have several foreign shareholders: we can certainly continue discussing this, and everyone recognizes the need for solidarity payments to lower leagues."

For several months, Serie A has demanded clarification regarding ownership and usage rights of competition data. This issue could have been resolved at no cost but has been ignored until now. There has been some progress: a regulation clarifies that competition data ownership belongs to the event organizer, but those using our data without payment still implicitly challenge this. For those not acquiring data illegally but obtaining it without payment, additional clarification would make the situation clearer, and we could also consider providing greater financial support to lower leagues. Full ownership of competition data must belong to the event organizer, and the scope of use for licensees must be limited to the period and terms of the license.

Regarding the use of young players, the situation is more complex: Serie A has independently implemented measures to encourage young Italian players to gain playing time. Starting in the 2023/2024 season, squad lists must include eligible young players from the Primavera league. We have also excluded Italian players under 23 from the expanded labor cost index: this regulation will deliver many benefits as it matures. However, implementing mandatory playing time rules in Serie A makes little sense: the market is global, and many players now compete abroad. In such circumstances, counting playing time in Serie A is not very significant, as shown by Mancini's squad list. If many of our best players are playing in the Premier League, discussing this topic in Serie A becomes difficult. Moreover, minimum playing time requirements can only be consistent with European regulations if an agreement is reached; otherwise, such regulation could be unconstitutional due to conflict with EU law.

Regarding league reform: some bills under consideration even demand a legal reduction in the number of professional clubs with only a 12-month timeline. Compared to sporting autonomy, this is the biggest controversy, and it disregards the television rights system: we have already sold broadcasting rights according to the current format, with contracts through 2029. Any reform must allow time for implementation: we do not deny that the number of professional clubs needs to be reduced, but requiring the Italian Football Federation to push through league reforms within a predetermined timeline is unrealistic and would undermine a process that must be driven by the relevant institutions. National laws cannot dictate reforms that must be pursued autonomously by all parties; the UEFA would not tolerate such interference either: let us not forget, we are still advancing preparations for Euro 2032.

Regarding the relationship between football and betting, Serie A has repeatedly called for the repeal of the general advertising ban in the "Dignity Decree." Other European countries adopt a partial restriction model: France, Germany, and Spain have time-based restrictions, while England and Portugal have similar measures. Our clubs are at a disadvantage at the European level: protecting consumers, including minors, is certainly important, but this disadvantage must be eliminated. Related to this is the question of distributing revenue from sports betting, and Serie A's position is that a portion of profits should be returned to event organizers. The advertising ban also makes it difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal betting.

Additionally, there are issues related to audio and video piracy, and we expect penalties to be actually enforced, not merely announced. The relevant laws are already very comprehensive, and now we need to take another step forward: to truly enforce them. Using penalty revenue for youth training is certainly an option, even though we are the victims, but the most important thing is first enforcing the laws.

Regarding stadiums, professional clubs' venues should be considered national strategic infrastructure. Over the past 20 years, Italy has built only 7 new stadiums, while Turkey has built 20. Stadiums are the only way to increase revenue: the best current example is Internazionale, which generates 70–80 million euros in annual stadium revenue. European rivals like Real Madrid can earn 300 million euros annually from their stadiums alone. This disparity allows Spain to attract more star players, leading to greater international revenue: if we want to grow, we must bring star players back to Italy.

We are demanding at least a limited restoration of the Growth Decree, applicable to one or two high-earning players per club, and only for those willing to accept tax compliance—that is, to accept monitoring by tax authorities as major companies do. Some clubs are ready to accept this, but correspondingly, there must be benefits that can help us succeed again internationally."

Traduzido por IA.

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