Italian soccer team loses 20-0 after fielding only 7 players

A third-tier Italian soccer team had a day to forget when it lost 20-0 after being able to field only seven players, all of them teenagers.

Pro Piacenza, which has financial problems, had already forfeited three matches and not playing a fourth on Sunday would have seen it thrown out of Serie C.

"What happened at Cuneo with Pro Piacenza is an insult to the sport and its founding principles," Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina said.

The team turned up at Cuneo with just seven players, the minimum number required. They were all aged between 16 and 19 with captain Nicola Cirigliano listed as the coach.

Cuneo led 16-0 at halftime.

"Our responsibility is to protect the fans ... and the credibility of our championships," Gravina said, adding that the game "which we just witnessed, against our will, will be the last farce."