Serie A has decided to change the way they award the Scudetto. Starting in the 2022/23, season if two teams arrive at the end of the season with even points, they will have to play a one match playoff to determine who will win the Scudetto and take home the title. If two sides have the same points after 38 games they will play a ninety minutes match and then go to penalties if there is no winner after the final whistle. If there were to be a three team tie, a detached table would determine the two teams that would have the right to play the playoff final, meaning the three teams’ point totals against each other would be used to determine the top two. This is a huge change, one that can potentially create a Serie A final for the title, but it’s also important to note that this scenario happened once already, back in 1964 when Inter Milan and Bologna played a playoff Scudetto final which Bologna won against Helenio Herrera’s side.
Up to now, Serie A had used head-to-head record between the teams to determine the winner, and then goal difference between the two. The 2021/22 season ended up with AC Milan winning by two points over Inter Milan in one of the most entertaining seasons of the recent history of Italian soccer. However, for weeks the possibility of a potential tie on points at the end of the season loomed. That potential outcome may be where the idea of this new rule originated, with the hope of seeing closer title races in the future since it made for such compelling drama last season. At the same time, as other leagues did, Serie A officially approved the five substitutions rule permanently, as it was suggested by the IFAB last month.
