Cassano verdict held up by Marchetti hearing
Reuters - Monday 13 December 2010, 16:43
MILAN - Antonio Cassano will have to wait
a few days longer to see if his contract with Sampdoria will be
cancelled after a verdict from an arbitrational panel was
delayed on Monday in order to hear another case.
The Italy forward has been suspended by Samp since late
October for swearing at the club president Riccardo Garrone, who
has gone to league arbitration to seek the resolution of
Cassano's contract which would make him a free agent.
"The decision will come in a couple of days, definitely
before Thursday," panel chairman Paolo Giuggioli told reporters
having indicated on Friday a verdict would come on Monday.
"We had a hearing for a separate case so it's tricky. It's
also a delicate issue."
That second hearing involved Italy World Cup goalkeeper
Federico Marchetti, who wants to escape his Cagliari contract
having been dropped all season for asking for a transfer.
The Serie A player's union called a strike for last weekend
over whether clubs should be allowed to drop players from the
squad but the industrial action was averted after a late deal.
Cassano became a key player in Cesare Prandelli's new-look
Italy side before his banishment but his explosive character has
meant several top clubs are not interested in signing him even
if he becomes a free agent.
Juventus and Lazio both said on Monday that Cassano does not
enter into their plans while Inter Milan president Massimo
Moratti said last week that media reports linking the
28-year-old with the treble winners was "fantasy football".
Serie A leaders AC Milan want a new forward in January but
the club have never mentioned interest in the ex-Real Madrid
man. Fiorentina failed in a bid for Cassano last season.