Last minute sale keeps Salernitana in Serie A

January 4 – Salernitana, dubbed in Italy as the club that wished it had never got promoted to Serie A, have been saved from being kicked out after acquiring a new owner at the 11th hour.

The team from Salerno, south of Naples, were promoted from Serie B for the first time in 23 years last season but their owner, Claudio Lotito, also owned Lazio.

That meant they immediately fell foul of FIGC rules because ownership of more than one team in the same division is banned in Italy and although control of Salernitana was handed to a trust, they were unable to find a replacement for Lolito and given a December 31 deadline by Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President Gabriele Gravina.

Acceptance of a bid came just ahead of the midnight deadline that would have forced the club out of the league.

The FIGC announced that “in accordance with the terms of the deed of trust, the Trustees informed the FIGC via e-mail that they had accepted an irrevocable offer to purchase the shares of Salernitana”.

The federation confirmed that the club had been sold to Daniele Iervolino, founder of Italy’s Pegasus Online University, but made no mention of the price which was reportedly a knockdown €10m .

In a statement published in La Gazzetta dello Sport, Iervolino said he would “do everything to keep Salernitana in Serie A.”

With 18 games played the club are bottom of the league and eight points off safety.

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