The second leg of the Serie B relegation playoff between hostsSalernitanaand Sampdoria was abandoned on Sunday after home fans threw smoke bombs and seats on to the pitch.
Sampdoria were leading 2-0 when the match was initially postponed in the 65th minute as Salernitana fans hurled objects on to the pitch. Play briefly resumed but was ultimately abandoned amid chaotic scenes at the Stadio Arechi.
According to Italian media, Sampdoria are likely to be awarded a 3-0 win, which would secure a 5-0 aggregate victory and guarantee their escape from what had seemed certain relegation to the third tier.
Salernitana’s CEO, Maurizio Milan, told a press conference that the club would go down to Serie C. “We hoped to [restart] from [Serie B], we’ll do it from Serie C,” he said. “We know very well that the third division is very complicated. We’ll start again immediately, learning from our mistakes.”
Sampdoria, Italian champions in 1991, were initially relegated to Serie C for the first time in their 78-year history, only to be handed a lifeline after the season ended when Brescia were docked points for financial irregularities, dropping them below Sampdoria and granting the Genoa club a place in the relegation playoff.
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Salernitana also suffered a setback afterbeing hit by food poisoning, which led to the second leg being postponed following Sampdoria’s 2-0 home win in the first leg.