On 13 May 2017,
SPAL were mathematically promoted from
Serie B after 49 years away. Five days later,
Hellas Verona clinched promoted as well, one year on from being relegated. On 8 June 2017,
Benevento won the promotion play-offs to earn the club a first ever promotion to Serie A; they became the 67th team to participate in the Italian top flight. After
video assistant refereeing (VAR) was privately tested in the
previous season, on 10 June 2017 it was announced replay assistance would be implemented for this season. The percentage of errors in Serie A in this season was reportedly 0.89 percent, compared to 5.78 percent if VAR had not been not used. Subsequently to the new UEFA entry criteria, Italy obtained four group stage spots for the following
Champions League season, as did the other three leagues with the highest
coefficient in Europe; this was an improvement on the three Champions League spots (two group stage places and one qualifying play-off place) that Serie A had received prior. On 4 March 2018,
Davide Astori, captain of
Fiorentina, died in his sleep while staying in a hotel in
Udine prior to Fiorentina's match against
Udinese, proven to be caused by
cardiac arrest determined from an
autopsy conducted two days later. All
Serie A,
Serie B and
Serie C matches scheduled for 4 March were postponed. Cagliari and Fiorentina both
retired the
number 13 jersey worn by Astori in his honour. The teams that were relegated included
Benevento (on 22 April 2018, after one year in Serie A),
Hellas Verona (on 5 May 2018, also after one year), and
Crotone (on 20 May 2018, after two seasons in the top flight). On 13 May 2018,
Juventus won their seventh title in a row and the 34th in their history following their 0–0 draw away to
Roma in the penultimate matchweek. Four days later, Juventus goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon announced his farewell to
Serie A (and the
national football team). He left the league after 23 career seasons, the last seventeen being with Juventus, having earned nine league titles and 640 caps, the second highest ever in Serie A. However, after a year away with
Paris Saint-Germain, Buffon would return to Juventus and to Serie A for the
2019–20 season. ==Teams==