News Focus
- The new regulation will take effect from the 2026/27 Serie A campaign.
- Teams heading to European finals will avoid title or relegation play-offs.
- Head-to-head records will now settle any tied positions in these cases.
- The change follows scheduling chaos during the 2024/25 season finale.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has approved a major change to Serie A rules. The Federal Council confirmed that from the 2026/27 season, there will be no play-off matches to decide the title or relegation in certain situations.
This new rule applies when two clubs finish with the same number of points. If one of those clubs is preparing for a European final, they will not play an extra match. Instead, their head-to-head record from the league season will decide who finishes higher.
The change covers the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League finals.
This decision comes after problems during the 2024/25 season. Inter Milan and Napoli were fighting for the Scudetto until the last day. They could have finished level on points, which would have needed a title play-off. However, Inter were also due to play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final. This created a big headache for organisers.
To solve the problem last season, both clubs played their final matches earlier than the rest of the league. The new rule removes this risk for the future. The head-to-head result between the two tied teams will now serve as the final tiebreaker.