Catania and the Serie B that no longer arrives. From fear to sigh of relief: the surety saves the market. But it turns the spotlight on Pelligra

Waiting, fear, hope, liberation. Even if the clouds above Catania they stay for some economic problems that no one would have expected. Not now, at least. True, it is about Alloy Probut the corporate events of recent years and the importance of the club require us to talk about it almost as if it were a reality at the highest levels, especially if we consider the importance of the ownership that manages the club: it is the Pelligra Groupan Australian entrepreneur who has already spent in two years tens of millions of euros on the team, with the aim of bringing it back to the top series. And to invest in the city, it goes without saying.

Catania Chaos: What Happened and What the Lega Pro Rules Say
To understand what happened, we need to go back almost 24 hours, when in the city of Catania, late in the evening, people celebrated a surety bond from just over 4 million euros arrived at the last minute. What was it for? It was a guarantee required by the Pro League to ratify all new purchaseswhich in Catania for now are eight (coach excluded: Mimmo Tuscan It was the name chosen to try to reach the Serie Bhe who is an expert in promotions) but they will not stop there.

The regulation of the Pro League in fact, it imposes a strict control on the accounts of the companies, especially in terms of salaries, to avoid the scythe of the bankruptcies of the clubs during the championship. An event all too frequent in the past seasons. Specifically, if the wages exceeded one million euros, a bank guarantee of 40% of the excess amount. If, for example, a club found itself with a spending cap of 2 million gross (so one million more than the ceiling), a guarantee of around 400 thousand euros would be needed. Catania, confirming its ambitions, has planned to spend on players and staff approximately 11 million euros. But the 4 million guarantee did not arrive. And the concern increased every day.

Because the deadline to ratify the contracts already signed was set for yesterday, August 9th. And only at the last minute did the ok from the banks arrive (which for the Pelligra Group are American) and the consequent green light from Lega Pro. With a sigh of relief not only for the fans (who have already signed 7 thousand subscriptions), but also for the coach, who was unable to call up the first official outings of Italian Cup the new purchases.

Problem solved? Yes. With “many apologies” from Pelligra, who through a press release reiterated his full commitment to getting the company off the ground a project born two years ago and which, according to the plans, would include promotion to Serie B at the end of this season. After the one just ended which was much more difficult than expected (despite the victory of the Italian Serie C Cup). The delay, according to what was reported, was due to a material error in communications between American and Italian banks, which had probably been underestimated in recent weeks.

But, indeed, some shadows remain. As was said, Pelligra, who has Sicilian origins, wants invest in the city (is a manufacturer) and in general in Italy. And the news has not been very comforting. In recent weeks, the group has acquired the ex Blutec (of whose fate IlFattoquotidiano.it has been dealing with it for years), announcing a plan of early retirement for 183 workers And the hiring of 350with the help of the Region. Social issues much more delicate than the Catania Footballwhich however open to a series of reflections on the investment capacity of the group. Which seems very solid, certainly. Even if this figure, not exactly beautiful, could have been avoided.