Defiant Brescia chief Massimo Cellino willing to forfeit EVERY Serie A game if forced to play through coronavirus crisis

BRESCIA president Massimo Cellino has vowed to forfeit any rearranged Serie A games as optimistic plans of a return to action were revealed.

The Italian FA (FIGC) are looking at proposals to get back on the pitch as early as next month.

Lockdown measures across Italian society are in place until April 13.

Should they start to be scaled down from that date, game bosses are hopeful of finishing the 2019/20 season.

But Cellino, in charge of Serie A's bottom club who are nine points from safety, insists the city of Brescia cannot contemplate hosting football matches any time soon.

He told : "This season doesn’t make sense any more.

"If they force us to play, I’d be willing to not field the team and lose the matches 3-0 out of respect for the citizens of Brescia and their loved ones who are no longer there."

He added: "In Brescia, we have lorries that are taking the dead out of the city.

"We're at the epicentre of the epidemic."

Some have criticised Cellino for seeking an early end to the season as a way of wriggling out of a seemingly inevitable relegation, but the ex-Leeds chief accepts Brescia going down would be "deserved" in any case.

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On Thursday, Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora revealed plans for footballers to return to work within a fortnight before games restart on May 20.

He stated: "I cannot guarantee any date for the resumption of the activity, but if the lockdown is loosened after April 13, then you can start again with training sessions - gradually and taking all precautions."

There is optimism that new coronavirus cases in Italy may have plateaued after 13,915 deaths following from the virus, with 115,242 confirmed positive tests.