Salernitana's Serie B playoff rescheduled after food poisoning

A severe bout of food poisoning has forced Sampdoria's relegation decider with Salernitana to be rescheduled for this coming Sunday, Serie B said on Tuesday.

Eight Salernitana players were hospitalised in the early hours of Monday morning after 21 people from the club's playing and training staff fell ill during the return flight to Salerno following their 2-0 loss at Sampdoria in the first leg of the two-sides' relegation play-off.

Salernitana asked for the second leg in Salerno, originally scheduled for Friday night, to be pushed back to help players recover. 

And Italy's second division said in a statement that the game would now kick off at 2030 local time (1830 GMT) on Sunday.

Italian media report police had visited the hotel where Salernitana players stayed ahead of the first leg and which prepared the team's in-flight meal for the journey to Salerno.

Sampdoria were relegated to the third tier for the first time in their history last month, only to be saved by a points deduction for Brescia which bumped the 1991 Italian champions into one of the division's two relegation play-off positions.

Brescia, who replaced Sampdoria in the last of three automatic relegation places, did not appeal the deduction and are set to go out of existence after 114 years following owner Massimo Cellino's decision not to honour a debt of three million euros ($3.4 million).

One of seven Italian clubs who have played all their football in the top two divisions, Sampdoria were relegated to Serie B in 2023.

They were close to going bust before being saved by current president Matteo Manfredi and former Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani, who has since exited the club.

The club's current majority shareholder is Singaporean businessman Joseph Tey.

Club icons Alberico Evani and Attilio Lombardo were hired as coaches in April in an attempt to save Sampdoria from the drop after significant transfer market activity both last summer and in January.

Evani is Sampdoria's fourth head coach of the season after Andrea Pirlo, Andrea Sottil and Leonardo Semplice.