Bad news for fans of Cagliari FC, as their club has been forced to forfeit this last weekend's home match to AS Roma. The rules governing Italian Football provide for such a sanction, and today it was leveled at the Sardinian side.
The two clubs had been scheduled to play this last weekend's match behind closed doors after Cagliari's new stadium failed to meet safety standards. The local government and the Italian FA had ordered the match go ahead without fans, but the club president encouraged Season Ticket holders to show up anyway, prompting an emergency meeting between government and club officials. This meeting resulted in the postponement of the match and today it was announced that it would be forfeited to AS Roma.
Article 17 of the "Federcalcio" provides for this sanction, stating:
"Clubs are responsible for the fact that any acts interrupting the smooth running of a game can be punished with the loss of that match with a scoreline of 0-3 awarded."
The added points move Roma up to fifth place, and while Cagliari does not drop for now, the 0-3 score will affect their goal difference.
Cagliari abandoned their former stadium last march, and had played the remainder of the 2011-2012 Serie A season at stadium more than 700 miles away from the city.
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