A general view inside Stadio Arechi, Salerno before the match against AS Roma August 29, 2021. – Reuters pic
MILAN, Feb 15 — The Italian Football Association (FIGC) appeals court on Monday overturned a Serie A decision penalising Salernitana for failing to travel to Udinese for a league fixture on December 21 due to Covid-19 cases in their squad.
The Salerno club were prohibited from travelling by their local health authority (ASL), but the league’s governing body refused to postpone the tie, saying the team still had enough available players in their squad for the fixture to go ahead.
A sports judge who deals with legal cases in Italy’s top-flight league later rejected an appeal by Salernitana, enforcing a customary 3-0 loss by default and a one-point deduction for no show.
“(The appeal court) approves the above appeal and overrules as a consequence the inflicted sanctions and requests to inform national top-flight league Serie A about the ruling to allow the game to be played,” the court said in a statement.
The decision comes after the Italian government approved a new sports protocol in January with clearer guidelines on when a match should be postponed for Covid-19 related reasons following several no shows in Serie A for the same reason as Salernitana.
Salernitana remain at the bottom of the table on 13 points after 23 games, while Udinese’s points fall to 24 from 27 after 23 games and their spot in the table to 15th from 14th. — Reuters