THE Serie B play-offs have been thrown into chaos with the threat of a points deduction looming for Bari due to payment irregularities.
Fabio Grosso’s men finished in sixth place last season and are due to face seventh-place Cittadella at home in the first leg.
They stand accused of having failed to pay contributions and deductions from player salaries, with any punishment initially due to be to be applied next season.
However, Serie B president Mauro Balata wants a quick solution, which means the trial has now been moved forward to June 1.
Because of this, this clash as well as the other play-off clash between Venezia and Perugia, are likely to be postponed pending trial.
Should Bari lose points, it would likely mean they drop down the table and the play-offs would have to be arranged differently — with the first leg against Cittadella played away from home.
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One of the main issues is that Bari have already sold 8,000 tickets for this Saturday’s clash.
The promotion play-off system is a little different in Italy and involves sides ranking from third to eighth.
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Fifth-place Venezia face eighth-place Perugia while sixth-place Bari take on seventh-place Cittadella with third-place Frosinone and fourth-place Palermo awaiting the winners of the two ties.
This season’s play-offs include three of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning side in Filippo Inzaghi (Venezia), Fabio Grosso (Bari) and Alessandro Nesta (Perugia) as managers.
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