Forlì ‘defeated’ by the sports judge. Carpi’s knockout confirmed. “We will appeal”

Defeated on the pitch and, for now, also on the forehand point. The sports judge rejected the complaint presented by Forlì regarding the regularity of the match against Carpi, 32nd matchday played on Sunday at the ‘Cabassi’ stadium: therefore the 2-1 in favor of the Emilian red and whites is confirmed. Therefore, the ranking remains unchanged which, with two days to go before the end of the regular season, sees Carpi firmly in command with 64 points and Forlì, at 49, temporarily out of the playoff zone. The Viale Roma club, however, does not back down and, through a succinct press release, announces that it has “instructed its lawyers to challenge the decision before the Sports Court of Appeal, as a second instance body”.

But let’s proceed in order. Forlì complained about the violation of art. 21, paragraph 4, of the Code of Sports Justice, according to which “in the case of cancellation of the match the player will serve the disqualification in the match immediately following the publication of the definitive provision”, asserting that the player Tommaso Cecotti , registered for Carpi, would not have been entitled to participate in the match, as on 28 January he had missed the match won by the Modena team (3-2) against Pistoiese due to disqualification. According to Forlì, in fact, this last circumstance would have been invalidated by the expulsion of the Tuscans, made official last Tuesday by the National Amateur League. Consequently, by virtue of the combined provisions of the art. 21, paragraph 4, Cgs and 53, paragraph 3 of the Federal Internal Organizational Regulations, according to which, as a result of the exclusion “all the matches played during the relevant championship have no value for the ranking, which is formed without taking into account the results of the matches of the renounced or excluded club”, the Carpi-Pistoiese match – this is the theory put forward by Forlì – would not have allowed Cecotti to serve the disqualification, as it was no longer valid for the purposes of the ranking.

The sports judge had a contrary opinion, objecting that “the exegesis proposed by the complainant”, i.e. Forlì, “contradicts the spirit of the rules and the correct application suggested by the consolidated orientation of the Sports Court of Appeal”, adding that the player in question “has actually served the sanction of a match ban and has done so in the same competition in which he committed the infringement, whereas the interpretation proposed by the complainant would require the sanction to be served again”. If this is the picture, Tommaso Cecotti “had full right to take part in the match (Carpi-Forlì)”.

Forlì itself was in the same situation as Carpi: Riccardo Gaiola, captain of the cockerels, given a 3-match ban for spitting in Fidenza, in the stormy post-match against Borgo San Donnino, had served a one-match stoppage precisely on the occasion of the Pistoiese-Forlì match (1-2) on 25 February.