Soccer team leaves pitch following racist insult but handed 0-3 forfeit loss

(ANSA) - ROME, 23 OTT - After a teammate was subjected to racist insults, the players of an Italian lower-tier soccer team walked off the pitch but their act of solidarity and protest resulted in a forfeit loss of 0-3 instead of them being rewarded for their gesture. Mascarino, a team competing in the Terza Categoria tier in the province of Bologna, which faced Vigor Pieve 1925 on Sunday, is now preparing an appeal. The incident occurred in the 41st minute of the second half, with the score at 0-1. The player responsible for the discriminatory remarks was immediately sent off, but Mascarino chose to abandon the match. Vigor Pieve filed a complaint, and the sports judge, Carlo Del Percio, handed down a 10-match suspension to the individual who made the insult, while also awarding a 0-3 forfeit victory to Vigor Pieve. When contacted, the Bologna branch of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) declined to comment. The penalized club is currently preparing an appeal, focusing on Article 10 of the Code of Sports Justice—the provision cited in the ruling—which states in its first paragraph: "A club held responsible for events or circumstances that have affected the orderly conduct of a match, or that have prevented the match from taking place as scheduled, shall be penalized with the loss of the match, recorded as a 0-3 forfeit defeat." However, paragraph five—which will be the focal point of the appeal—states: "When events occur during a match that, by their very nature, cannot be assessed using purely technical criteria, the sports justice bodies shall determine whether, and to what extent, such events influenced the proper conduct of the match." In such cases, the measures that may be taken include awarding a forfeit loss or ordering a replay of the match deemed to have been irregular. The latter is the outcome requested by Mascarino. Following the uproar caused by their formal complaint and the subsequent victory awarded by default, Vigor Pieve's president had indicated that the club might consider a request to replay the match; however, they will not be able to do so. The decision will rest with the fifth-tier sports justice body, assuming—as is now certain—that Mascarino files an appeal against the sports judge's ruling, in the belief that a different assessment could be reached. "We will evaluate whether to pursue criminal action against the player who made the racist insult, and for our next match, we will show up with only seven players; one of them will immediately leave the pitch, triggering a suspension, a forfeit loss, and a points deduction," Mascarino president Antonello Le Fosse told Il Resto del Carlino newspaper. (ANSA).
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