MILAN (Reuters) - An Italian third division club which cobbled together a seven-man team and lost 20-0 on Sunday has been thrown out of the league.
Pro Piacenza's first team squad and coaching staff refused to travel for the game at Cuneo due to unpaid wages, leaving the financially troubled team to start with six teenagers and a 39-year-old physiotherapist -- the only players they could find.
After ruling on Monday that some the players were not registered for the match, Lega Serie C's disciplinary committee disqualified the team from the competition and handed Cuneo a walkover 3-0 win.
The Italian football federation (FIGC) later said the club had been disaffiliated due to "the serious regulatory violations which occurred at the Cuneo-Pro Piacenza match added to the other numerous documented irregularities."
Pro Piacenza were bottom of the North and Central West group of Serie C, which is split into three 20-team regional groups.
(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Ken Ferris)