Italian team withdraws from women's Serie A after penalty decision
Italian football was plunged into chaos after top-flight side Pomigliano withdrew from the women's Serie A Femminile "with immediate effect" after just six games in the season.
The decision to withdraw was announced on Saturday following a contentious referee decision which saw a game-winning penalty awarded to Pomigliano's opponent Sampdoria.
Pomigliano defender Gaia Apicella was dismissed five minutes into the second half for a second yellow card offence. An 82nd-minute penalty proved the difference in a tight affair as former Pomigliano player Taty converted from the spot.
The loss marked the fifth in six matches for Antonio Contreras's side since the start of the season, with Pomigliano sitting second-from-bottom above only Napoli with only a point gleaned across the campaign to date.
And Pomigliano hit out at the Women’s Football Division of the Italian Football Federation in an extraordinary press released which claimed they "are fighting against invisible opponents, that takes away your energy and the desire to continue."
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In a press release published by Tuttosport, the statement said: "The company, at the end of today's match, met with its board of directors and in the presence of all the members, respecting its investments, in nobility of the sporting project that it has been pursuing for years, in the belief that the principles of sport in women's football have become a true utopia, says enough!
"Fighting against invisible opponents becomes an unequal struggle that takes away your energy and the desire to continue.
"By virtue of a Division that on the one hand demands compliance with the payment deadlines and methods, while on the other hand it is unable to guarantee a certain planning for the management of the payments to be made, conditioning the actual internal planning of the company, forcing a company to operate without deadlines certain and without specific methods."
Italy's women's top-flight began operating on a fully professional basis from the beginning of the 2022/23 season, but the switch has produced issues for teams unable to meet the new standards. The league consequently consists of only 10 teams.
Pomigliano Calcio Femminile have withdrawn from the Italian top-flight following a contentious penalty decision (Photo by Domenico Cippitelli/LiveMedia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Sampdoria were understood to be removing their women's team ahead of the start to this season, only for the decision to be reversed just two weeks before the season started. And Pomigliano insisted that Saturday's refereeing ruling was the necessary catalyst in the club's decision to quit the top-flight.
The statement added: "In addition to the refereeing management of the match against Sampdoria where the referee and fourth official managed and directed the outcome of the match in favour of the Ligurians, implementing a one-sided attitude from the beginning to the end of the match.
"Excessive severity towards our players, permissive in similar episodes against the Sampdorian players. A double yellow card for a Sampdoria player was transformed into a warning for a member of our bench at the 'suggestion' of the fourth official who actually managed the refereeing on the pitch.
Gaia Apicella of Pomigliano (Photo by Andrea Staccioli/Insidefoto/LightRocket via Getty Images)"Not to mention the invented penalty kick, as shown by the television images, with the visiting player who was not touched in the slightest by our defender; a decision that determined the final result.
"For all this and for other information communicated directly to the Women's Football Division, the company announces the withdrawal of the team from the championship with immediate effect."
As of Sunday afternoon, the statement does not appear on the club's website. The club's respective social media accounts have remained silent since Saturday's defeat.
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If the club's withdrawal from the league is confirmed, the Italian top-flight will be thrust into logistical chaos as it attempts to navigate a league of only nine teams. Pomigliano are scheduled to face league leaders Inter Milan next Saturday.
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