Financial crisis in Italy’s leagues are rarer than those around the world. But even the best of the best sometimes let it show how fragile volleyball still is in the professional scene. As an example, Sab Legnano‘s already brutal 2017-18 season just got added another big blow. Struggling to pay its players since the beginning of the season, it has already parted away with Americans Annie Drews (here), Sonja Newcombe (here), and Italian Giada Ceccheto (here). Now, after a lengthy legal battle, it was penalized with a loss of one point in league standings due to not having paid its former head coach Andrea Pistola, who was fired from the team after a 4-9 season start, for two months, according to Gian Pasini of Gazzetta.it.
With the loss of its point, Legnano now occupies the second-to-last spot in the league’s standings. Although it may not look like much, this single point will make a big difference in Legnano‘s fight against relegation, as 5 points now separates the club from the standing’s 9th spot, the first one out of relegation zone.
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SAB Volley Legnano is not the only club that has been fighting financial problems, as Russian club, Dinamo Krasnodarhas in large stretches in the past year or two been in financial turmoil that has forced them to not be able to pay their players for months on end.
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