Italy football strike cancelled

The Italian League and Players' Union has called off a player strike after finding an agreement on Monday over a collective contract, meaning the new Serie A season will begin on Friday. The warring factions have agreed a temporary deal that will expire at the end of the season but will at least allow the campaign to begin after the first round of matches just over a week ago was called off. The new Serie A season will therefore kick off on Friday night with champions AC Milan hosting Lazio. "It was worth having such a tough negotiation because the clubs have achieved much of what they wanted," league chief Maurizio Beretta told Italian news agency Ansa.