Italian derby abandoned after team reduced to six players

The southern derby match at Salernitana had begun 40 minutes late and Nocerina made their three permitted substitutions in the first two minutes.

Over the next 20 minutes, five players went off injured, leaving the team with six players, below the minimum needed to continue the game.

Italian media said Nocerina players had received death threats from the club's fans, had not wanted to play at all and had been persuaded to take the field by security officials.

Nocerina fans had been banned from attending the game and Italian media reported that the club wanted to stop the match being played.

(Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; Editing by Ed Osmond Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]. To sign up for our Global Sports Forum chatroom, click on https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/global_sports_forum