The CONI has given its verdict and Serie B will remain with 19 teams, despite appeals to expand it back to 22 by excluded clubs.
The chaos began over the summer, when clubs Bari, Avellino and Cesena went bankrupt and failed to register for the new season in mid-July.
Rather than keep Serie B at 22 teams and bring in replacements from Lega Pro/Serie C, the decision was made on August 13 to simply start again with the remaining 19 sides.
The CONI has given its verdict and Serie B will remain with 19 teams, despite appeals to expand it back to 22 by excluded clubs.
The chaos began over the summer, when clubs Bari, Avellino and Cesena went bankrupt and failed to register for the new season in mid-July.
Rather than keep Serie B at 22 teams and bring in replacements from Lega Pro/Serie C, the decision was made on August 13 to simply start again with the remaining 19 sides.
This infuriated the clubs who would’ve been brought back into Serie B, who took legal action against the move: Siena, Novara, Catania, Ternana and Pro Vercelli.
Their appeal was heard by the CONI (Italian Olympic Committee) last week and a verdict was only revealed today after much debate within the commission.
“For the first time in my career, the President voted against the majority verdict,” revealed CONI appeals court chief Franco Frattini.
“The vote was 3-2, with my vote against the decision to consider the appeals inadmissible. The league can continue with 19 teams.
It has been a bizarre state of affairs, trying to decide whether to expand the division from 19 teams to 22 when we’ve already had two rounds of the Serie B season, which kicked off on August 24.
Until it is known how many sides are in Serie B and who they are, the Lega Pro/Serie C third division cannot even draw up a fixture list, let alone start their season.
The excluded clubs have already pledged to take their legal action forward to another appeals court, but this was their best chance of turning back the clock.