Those hoping to get their hit of European football this weekend were disappointed yesterday to hear that Spain's title race is kicking off at 5pm local time, meaning Sky Sports can only show the final 15 minutes of the games, owing to the archaic British rule stating that live football cannot be screened in Britain between 3pm and 5.15pm.
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There is, however, some good news: the scrap to avoid relegation in Italy is going to be intriguing. Here s the foot of the Serie A table as it stands ahead of the final round of games:
Verona and Frosinone are already relegated, and Udinese are safe, meaning it Carpi must better Palermo's result to avoid the drop. The fixtures relevant here are:
A glance at the status of both of their rivals is superficially good news for both Carpi and Palermo, as both know their respective fates, meaning they have nothing to play for. This is not entirely the case, however. Verona have a major incentive to lose their game against Palermo. Should Verona lose, they will benefit to the tune of €15 million.
This is how it works. Verona are down, so they know that they are to profit from parachute payments once they go down. Typically of Serie A,the distribution of these payments is far from straightforward. This season, Serie A is awarding a total of €60 million in payments to the three teams relegated, doubled at a meeting in February.
This was split up in the following way: €25 million is to be awarded to a relegated side who had spent three of the last four years in Serie A; a club who have been in Italy's top division for two of the last three seasons receive €15 million and a club who are relegated immediately after going down are given €10 million. This arrangement leaves the possibility of a surplus: should a side deserving the €25 million go down alongside two sides deserving the €10 million each, the surplus is given to the side who have played in three or more Serie A seasons who fail to immediately regain promotion.
This weird scenario could throw itself up this weekend. Verona are down and guaranteed the €25 million, and Frosinone have gone down immediately after coming up, meaning that they are entitled €10 million.
Should Carpi go down, they will be entitled to just €10 million, and Verona will get their hands on the surplus €15 million .If Palermo are relegated,however, they too will be entitled to the €25 million, and Verona could take a hit. Verona can avoid that exact scenario by losing to Palermo this weekend.
Never has losing been so worthwhile.
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