The game ended in a tie on the field, then the unbelievable happened: both teams lost 3-0 by default
A draw on the field, a double defeat off the field. A sensational story is emerging from Lombardy’s Third Division, where a match that ended in a draw has turned into a controversy bound to spark debate. The protagonists of the story are Cambiaghese and Virtus Trecella, who faced off on Sunday in Group A of the Monza and Brianza province in a hard-fought match that ended in a 1-1 draw. However, an incident in the closing minutes completely changed the course of the game.
With just a few minutes remaining, two players were involved in a violent, accidental head-to-head collision. The situation required medical attention, and play was halted for about forty minutes. Once play resumed, both teams made an additional substitution, convinced they were permitted to do so under the rules introduced by the IFAB for cases of head trauma.
A seemingly logical decision, but one that proved fatal. The two clubs had, in fact, applied an experimental IFAB rule regarding additional substitutions in cases of concussion or suspected head injury. However, this rule has not been adopted by the FIGC for competitions organized within Italy. Hence the decision by the Disciplinary Committee, which awarded a 3-0 forfeit loss to both teams.
“The match report indicates that in the 41st minute of the second half, due to an accidental head-to-head collision between player No. 1 of the Cambiaghese team and player No. 19 of the Virtus Acli Trecella team, an ambulance was required, which temporarily suspended the match for approximately 40 minutes,” reads the official statement. “When play resumed, both teams—which had already made the maximum number of substitutions allowed (five)—made a sixth substitution.”
“The FIGC immediately established and subsequently reaffirmed the decision not to apply the aforementioned rule in all soccer competitions it organizes,” the Sports Judge emphasized. It should also be noted that the rules governing substitutions are clearly set forth in the Regulations for competitions organized by the LND, which can be found on the CRL Lombardia website, and in the subsequent clarifications provided in the news items published on September 15 on the same website, which clearly state that an additional substitution is permitted exclusively during extra time in competitions that provide for it. Therefore, the additional substitutions made by both teams are to be considered irregular.”
The result? Neither team earned any points from a match that had ended in a perfect tie on the field. An extremely rare occurrence, resulting not from misconduct or an attempt to circumvent the rules, but from an interpretation that seemed correct and yet ended up costing both clubs dearly.
