Italian side Pro Piacenza suffered a humiliating 20-0 defeat to Serie C rivals Cuneo to raise eyebrows around Europe about the peculiar nature surrounding the result.
Piacenza’s squad and coaching staff refused to make the trip for the game due to unpaid wages, and with financial turmoil leaving them on the brink of expulsion from the third tier, they were forced to put together some semblance of a team.
After three previous forfeits, Piacenza fielded six teenagers and even a 39-year-old physio, taking them to the magic number seven – the minimum requirement to avoid a forfeit.
Cuneo showed no mercy though, rattling off 16 goals in a dominant first half, with Hicham Kanis helping himself to six goals and Edoardo Defendi chipping in with five. They eased up after the interval though, showing some sort of mercy, adding just four more before the end of the contest.
The game has left much of Italian football horrified by the circumstances and impact of financial struggles on the game, leaving many to label it “shameful.”
One of the six Piacenza youngsters was 19-year-old captain Nicola Cirigliano, who acted as the team’s coach for the day.
The ludicrous nature of the game saw the number on the back of the physio’s shirt fixed with tape. He filled in for one teenager, who also travelled but failed to bring the requisite documentation.
Their numbers were momentarily boosted though, when the indentity paper for the youngster arrived midgame, but their numbers were quickly reduced when the physio was forced to limp off injured, seeing them end the game with seven players.
Cuneo captain Fabiano Santacroce, who used to play for Napoli and Parma, was not amused with the events that took place on Sunday.
“Today was a mockery of a match. There were kids, staff members... maybe a physio. This is the result,” the defender told RMC Sport.
“As captain, before the match, I spoke with the guys and said to them not to mock the opposition. But they made us play in a game in these conditions and we played it, simply doing what we had to.
“To be honest after half an hour I didn’t feel like taking part any more, it was a massacre.”
Pro Piacenza, who were bought for a nominal €1 last year, have struggled to contend with their financial struggles.
They now sit rock bottom of Serie C/A, accumulating just eight points all season, as well as being handed an eight-point penalty.
