Cagliari chief to be punished by Italian FA

The match was called off early Sunday after the Sardinian club defied orders to play the Serie A match in an empty stadium.

"Massimo Cellino's behavior is unacceptable and damages the image of the whole of Italian football," FICG President Giancarlo Abete said from Warsaw. "What started almost as a joke, with Cellino saying he had four stadiums at his disposal, ended like this. It's incredible, unacceptable and disturbing; besides anything else, certain behavior in Serie A has far-reaching effects. Cellino represents the League on the federal board, I believe that the higher up you are the more responsibility you have to assume.

"All this will certainly be punished, but the league has to learn a lesson from it and take the cue to improve the behavior of its leaders."