Piacenza ‘an insult’ to soccer

THE good news for Pro Piacenza was that, with just seven players, they managed to only lose the second half of their game against Cuneo 4-0. The bad news was that they had been 16-0 down at half-time.

Every one of Pro Piacenza’s players was a teenager for their Italian third-tier clash as the club, beset by financial problems, were forced to play in the knowledge that had they forfeited for the third time this season, they would have been thrown out of Serie C.

“What happened at Cuneo with Pro Piacenza is an insult to the sport,” Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina said.

“Our responsibility is to protect the fans... and the credibility of our championships,” Gravina said, adding that the game “which we just witnessed, against our will, will be the last farce.”