Udinese managing director Franco Collavino spoke exclusively to Udinese Tonight on Monday. This is what he had to say:
“At the start of the season, we played with stadiums at 50% capacity. We’re used to facing these situations during the pandemic era. We want to be able to host the highest possible number of fans at our ground.
"Before the pandemic, our average attendance was usually around 21,000 per game. With the Super Green Pass and the use of FFP2 masks, which have been made compulsory, the level of safety has increased, allowing supporters to attend matches safely. The club will do all it can to guarantee all safety requirements are met.
“In my opinion, everyone has to conduct themselves with a sense of civic responsibility, acknowledging the importance of the vaccine campaign in terms of regaining the freedom that we had before the pandemic and that will allow us to fill stadiums again.
“We’re pleased that Salernitana have resolved their problems and that they’ll be able to fulfil their matches until the end of the season. As for what happened on 21 December, Udinese Calcio followed the protocols in place and now the matter has been passed on to the sports judge, with the verdict set to be released in the coming days.
“I’d like to tell the fans who bought tickets for the game that based on the decision made by the governing body, we will offer refunds or issue new tickets for the rescheduled fixture.
“Players’ duty to get vaccinated is out of clubs’ control. We’re talking about 30 players out of over 600 in Serie A. I think Udinese moved quickly and immediately kicked off a vaccine campaign for players in May 2021. We hope that with everyone having a sense of responsibility, in particular players who are yet to be vaccinated, we can quickly move forward to ensure everyone’s safety.”