The Italian Football Federation is planning to nominate a special commissioner to settle discrepancies between Serie A and the players' association to avoid a strike.
"After what's happened, a commissioner is the most likely scenario," federation president Giancarlo Abete said Wednesday. "In the meantime though, the FIGC will continue to see if the conditions are right to restart negotiations."
Abete added that the nomination would likely come next week after he consults with the Italian Olympic Committee, which oversees all sports in the country.
The two parties reached an agreement in September to avoid a strike declared for Sept. 24-25. But the players' association warned that if a new contract was not settled by Nov. 30 the strike would go ahead.
Acting as a mediator Monday, Abete proposed to reopen talks on six issues, setting aside key clauses regarding transfers and out-of-contract players, but the clubs rejected the proposal, saying the negotiations need to include all the issues. That prompted the players to declare they may strike even before the end of the month.
"I am convinced that the AIC (players' association) will respect the strike suspension until Nov. 30 like it stated and therefore this month can be used to try and find a new agreement," Abete said.
