Italian minnow disqualified after 20-0 ‘farce’

Italian third-tier side Pro Piacenza was on Monday excluded from Serie C after fielding a team of just seven players in a 20-0 loss to league rival Cuneo, governing body Lega Pro announced.

Financially troubled Pro Piacenza, a side from northern Italy, has been unable to pay its players and staff, who have been on strike for several weeks.

Before Sunday’s trip to Cuneo in Piedmont, northern Italy, bottom club Pro Piacenza had already forfeited three matches and a fourth would have seen it kicked out of Serie C.

Pro Piacenza took to the pitch with seven players, all teenagers born between 2000 and 2002. An eighth player could not initially start having forgotten his identity papers, and came on after an hour.

One of the two players born in 2000 was named on the match sheet as the coach, with a team physiotherapist even taking to the pitch at one point to substitute a player who had cramps.

Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina had slammed the match as “an insult to sport” and vowed it would be “the last farce”.

Lega Pro lawyer Pasquale Marino on Monday ruled that Pro Piacenza would be excluded from Serie C, with the “farcical match” assigned as a 3-0 defeat.

In a statement, Lega Pro slammed “Pro Piacenza’s unacceptable behavior” which it said was also dangerous for players who were not adequately prepared.

Pro Piacenza will also have to pay a fine of $22,615.

The Italian third division, which is made up of three groups of 20 teams, is classified as professional, but many of the clubs have chronic financial problems.

Last week Matera was kicked out of the league after forfeiting a fourth match. Its players have been on strike since December, having not been paid since September.