ROME (Reuters) – Salernitana will be kicked out of Serie A if they do not find a new owner by Dec. 31, Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President Gabriele Gravina said on Tuesday.
The team from Salerno were promoted from Serie B for the first time in 23 years last season but their owner, Claudio Lotito, already owned another Serie A team, Lazio.
Ownership of multiple teams in the same division is against league rules and control of the club was handed to a trust to find a new buyer. However, they have yet to succeed with 10 days to go until the agreed deadline.
“There won’t be any let-offs when it comes to the Dec.31 deadline for the sale of Salernitana,” Gravina said after a meeting of the FIGC council.
“If there are not any new developments by Dec.31, Salernitana are out”.
Serie A made a request to the FIGC last week to keep Salernitana in the division until the end of the season while they try to find a buyer after they failed to receive suitable offers.
Salernitana are bottom of the league with eight points from 18 games, and did not travel for their game against Udinese on Tuesday after the local health authority banned them from travelling due to positive COVID-19 cases in the squad.
(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
