The relegation battle between US Salernitana and Sampdoria Genoa is being overshadowed by food poisoning at Salernitana. The club announced that Monday’s training session had to be canceled due to 21 players being unavailable.
One might think that the 0-2 defeat in the first leg of the relegation match against Sampdoria Genoa was the biggest problem for US Salernitana. However, the departure from Genoa caused even greater concern, apparently due to spoiled rice.
As the club announced in a statement on Monday, several players suffered gastrointestinal problems on the flight back from Sunday to Monday. According to information from the Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, this was caused by rice in the lunch packs, which had been prepared and delivered by club officials and nutritionists at the team hotel in Genoa.
First problems on the return flight
During the rest of the flight, several members of the team experienced such severe pain that four ambulances and other private vehicles were waiting for the team at Salerno-Costa d’Amalfi airport. According to reports, 16 team members, including eight players, had to be taken to hospital and some remain under observation.
As a result of the incident, Monday’s training session was canceled due to the fact that 21 people were now affected, according to the club. The Italian police have been called in and on Monday investigated the hotel in Genoa where the team was staying to clarify possible problems with food storage.
“Unable to show up at the sports center”
“Many players and staff are currently unable to even show up at the sports center to resume training,” said Maurizio Milan, Salernitana’s sporting director, in the club’s statement on the incident. “We trust that the authorities will investigate the causes of this widespread and serious episode,” Milan added.
In view of the current circumstances, the club is requesting that Friday’s return leg for Serie B be postponed. “We are very concerned about what has happened and fear that we will be denied the opportunity to finish the last minutes of this season in a normal and peaceful manner,” the statement said. It was also announced that a request to this effect had been submitted to the relevant Serie B authorities.
