Concern in Italy as Serie A loses the ‘Beckham Rule’

The so-called ‘Beckham Rule’ is no more in Italy. The Crescita Decree, a law by which effectively game clubs a 50% tax break on the salaries of players from abroad (or who had not worked in the country for the previous two years), will no longer be applicable from the New Year. On Thursday, Italian senate reached a decision not to extend the decree, which has been in place since June 2019. It was reached after a “tense discussion” with Matteo Salvini among the fiercest detractors regarding discounts for foreign players, as he argued, offering tax breaks to foreign footballers who earn millions is “immoral”.

Decision “will make Serie A less competitive”

The Lega Serie A expressed “stupor and concern” in a press release and feel that the measure will “take away competitiveness from the clubs with lower income and also mean lower income for the Treasury.” Back in November, AC Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani ominously stated: “Annulling the benefits of the Crescita Decree would be the destruction of Italian football.”

While the Italian Footballers’ Association may be satisfied with the outcome (according to La Corriere della Sera, AIC president Umberto Calcagno called Salvini yesterday), Italian clubs must now rethink their strategies for the winter transfer market.

Lazio president Claudio Lotito claimed in Notizie.com that the decision was “complete nonsense” adding that the powers that be “will realize their mistake. The State will not receive money either - if you attract a foreigner who pays taxes in Italy, he will be better than one who does not come and pays nothing, right? Our league will lose competitiveness”.

The Biancoceleste leader is very pessimistic: “Last year there were three Italian teams in European finals, now we will see... The next teams will be decided by the Footballers’ Association, since they did everything possible to cancel the rule. Some clubs will be destroyed, and in the middle of all of this there’s Milan, Juve, Roma...”