The Italian players union has called off its planned strike which threatened to wipe out this weekend’s Serie A programme after the latest round of talks with league representatives yesterday.

The Italian Players’ Association (AIC) had threatened to strike if clubs failed to reform the way players in the final year of their contracts were treated.

Yesterday’s announcement was made by AIC president Sergio Campana.

It followed a series of meetings last week after which representatives from both sides expressed optimism at reaching a deal before Saturday’s kick-offs.

The dispute was triggered by the recent expiry of a collective contract between the AIC and league bosses guaranteeing players’ rights.

Initial discussions on renewing that deal failed, leading to the current impasse which has now been resolved.

The AIC had wanted clubs to allow players who are to be sold on to continue training with the team, and not apart.

They had also called for the clubs to drop plans to force players who are in their final year of contract and refusing to move to another club to buy out their contracts for 50 per cent of their value.