Things have gotten truly ugly at Sampdoria.
A package containing a severed pig’s head that was addressed to club owner Massimo Ferrero and the team’s vice president Antonio Romei was delivered to club headquarters on Saturday.
The package also contained a threatening note, with the club contacting police to investigate.
“UC Sampdoria expresses deep outrage and indignation in the face of the umpteenth serious act of intimidation that took place this morning at the company headquarters in Piazza Borgo Pila,” read an official statement from Sampdoria issued in the aftermath. “The company underlines that any type of attack on a member of the Board of Directors represents an attack on all its members, on their work and on the seriousness and abnegation with which they have approached this important position.
“Since its appointment, the [board] has operated in cohesion, unity of purpose and independence with the sole purpose of ensuring the continuation of Sampdoria’s corporate and sporting activity pending the transition to new ownership. Precisely in this direction, the professionalism and preparation of the vice-president Antonio Romei are fundamental, with whom the board hopes to be able to continue sharing this delicate phase in the life of the club.”
Sampdoria’s future looks grim
The Serie A strugglers are nine points from safety, with just two wins and 11 goals out of 23 games thus far in the 2022-23 campaign. They are facing the possibility of a points reduction if they don’t fulfill obligations over a reported $11.8 million in unpaid salary to players and staff by the end of the month.
Ferrero pledged to pay the salaries on time earlier in February, but it’s not clear whether that has happened yet.
This isn’t the first threatening delivery to the club aimed at Ferrero, who told LaPresse that multiple envelopes with a bullet in them have been delivered to his homes in recent years.
Ferrero’s status with the club is convoluted, to say the least. The controversial 71-year-old businessman made racist remarks about former Inter owner Erick Thohir in 2014, and was arrested in 2021 for alleged financial crimes relating to four of his non-soccer business interests going bankrupt. Ferrero stepped down as Sampdoria’s chairman immediately after that arrest, but still owns the club through family holding.
Along with the club’s on-field struggles, supporters have been highly critical of Ferrero’s apparent refusal to negotiate with potential new owners. One former Sampdoria owner, Edoardo Garrone, has publicly criticized Ferrero for not negotiating with a consortium led by late Sampdoria and Italy great Gianluca Vialli or hearing out an offer from American firm Merlyn Partners (who are also the owners of French club Lille).
It’s a particularly tense moment for Sampdoria in terms of their fixture list as well. Their next two home matches, against fellow strugglers Salernitana and Hellas Verona, are virtual must-wins if they’re to maintain any hope of staying in Serie A, and those games are sandwiched against difficult away matches against Lazio, Juventus, and Roma.
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