Salernitana have been given an automatic 3-0 defeat to Udinese and docked one point after arguing they could not play due to a quarantine order over COVID cases.
The game was meant to go ahead on December 21 at the Dacia Arena, but the Salernitana squad was ordered to lock down after a flurry of positive COVID tests between players and staff.
Initially, no decision had been made by the Disciplinary Commission, pending an investigation.
Now they have ruled against Salernitana, insisting the Lega Serie A COVID protocol in place at the time – 13 players available including one goalkeeper – should’ve had precedence.
This is because it is argued Salernitana ‘actively encouraged’ the ASL to intervene, having seen evidence from some emails.
The Lega Serie A sued the local health authorities (ASL) in the TAR appeals tribunal and won.
Salernitana are likely to appeal, especially as the Disciplinary Commission had taken similar action against Napoli when they were ordered into quarantine ahead of the Juventus trip in October 2020.
Napoli won their appeal and that set a legal precedent that the ASL had the right to over-rule the Lega Serie A protocol.
There are several other games that were also postponed due to the ASL quarantine orders, so this is a sign of how those legal battles are likely to go.
ULTIM’ORA SERIE A
GIUDICE SPORTIVO, UDINESE-SALERNITANA 3-0
Ai campani anche un punto di penalizzazione#SkySport #SkySerieA #SerieA #UdineseSalernitana #Salernitana— skysport (@SkySport) January 18, 2022