The Italian football club Salernitana has asked to postpone their crucial Serie B relegation play-off match against Sampdoria. Why? Well, it turns out that several players and staff have come down with food poisoning. "A lot of our team can’t even get back to training right now," shared club CEO Maurizio Milan. This unfortunate situation hit the squad as they were returning from their first leg against Sampdoria, which they lost 2-0.
This latest setback has really put a dent in Salernitana’s hopes of staying in Italy's second tier. On Sunday, a whopping twenty-one players and staff members fell ill after the match. Talk about a tough break!
To give you some context, Salernitana already faced a rough season, finishing at the bottom of Serie A in 2023/24. And just when you think it can’t get worse, the 2024/25 season saw them end up in 16th place out of 20 in Serie B. They were only five points away from 17th-placed Sampdoria, which, according to league rules, meant they had to meet in a play-off to determine who would drop down to the third division. And let me tell you, this relegation battle has been quite the rollercoaster ride.
Originally, Salernitana was supposed to go up against Frosinone in the play-off. But then, in a dramatic twist, Brescia received a late points deduction that dropped them to 18th place, meaning automatic relegation. So, instead of facing Frosinone, Sampdoria got a surprise opportunity to fight for their survival.
Milan noted that many players and staff are still unable to even show up at the training center. The club has reached out informally to Serie B officials, and they've been met with a “general openness†to consider their request for a postponement. They've also called for an investigation into what caused this widespread illness.
With the return leg coming up on Friday and a two-goal deficit hanging over their heads, time is definitely not on their side. The players need to recover, and the league authorities need to decide pretty quickly if they’ll grant some extra time.
Oh, and just to add a bit of history here, Nigeria’s Simy Nwankwo made waves by becoming the first African player to be the top scorer in an Italian professional league, netting 20 goals with Crotone during the 2019–20 Serie B season. He also holds the record as Crotone’s all-time top scorer, with 66 goals across all competitions. Quite the achievement!