The Supercoppa Italiana won’t be rescheduled, to be played on Jan. 12

As a result of Italy dealing with another winter COVID-19 surge, stadium capacity across Serie A venues has been dialed back to 50 percent. That means, for at least the next few weeks at minimum, there’s going to be less revenue coming through the doors for all 20 Serie A clubs.

Two of them, Juventus and Inter Milan, asked for the upcoming Supercoppa to be postponed as a result of a growing number of COVID-19 cases within the two squads as well as the stadium capacity not being as plentiful as it was before the Christmas holiday break. They want the stadium as full as can be — so, basically 75 percent full over 50 percent full — so that this glorified exhibition can result in more money.

That won’t be happening.

The Supercoppa is staying right where it is.

That is the official word of the Serie A council handed down on Sunday afternoon. Rather than going with the request put forward by Juventus and Inter, said request has been denied, meaning this season’s edition of the Supercoppa is going to be played when it was originally scheduled to take place: Wednesday, Jan. 12 at the San Siro. That means it will be the third game in quite a busy week-long stretch for Juventus in which Max Allegri’s squad also plays Napoli and Roma right out of the holiday break in the lead-up to the Supercoppa.

According to Sky Italia, it was an unanimous vote of 6-0 to keep the Supercoppa on Jan. 12.

With so much uncertainty with when the Supercoppa could be played down the road this season, it’s easy to understand why the council voted the way they did. They want to make sure it happens sooner rather than later, and potentially before even stricter COVID-19 restrictions are put into place by the Italian government.

It’s been reported in the Italian press that dropping the stadium capacity from 75 percent to 50 percent will cost the event nearly €2 million in potential revenue.

At the same time, you can also see why Juve and Inter wanted the match postponed. For Juventus, there’s obviously the financial aspect of the equation which is very important, but you’ve also got a schedule in January that will go a long way in determining Juve’s chances of making the top four this season. Going Napoli-Roma-Inter to start the month out is just brutal and about as tough of a schedule as any Serie A team faces. Yes, one game is technically a glorified friendly, but you damn well Inter is going to be gunning for the chance to deny Juve from winning the trophy for another season.

But, with the official vote coming down Sunday, keeping the Supercoppa right where it is means Juve’s schedule in January will remain as busy as we imagined it would be. Here goes nothin’, folks. This should be interesting.