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Norwich City were forced to apologize to Serie D side Saint-Christophe Vallee d'Aoste after they had mistakenly defeated a local club instead with a massive scoreline of 13-0.
The Canaries were scheduled to play against Serie C club Novara as a part of their training camp, BBC Sport has confirmed. However, after the fixture was cancelled, they were due to face Vallee d'Aoste.
But, a local regional select XI consisting of non-professional footballers was instead fielded against the English side at the Piergiorgio Perucca Stadium in Saint-Vincent.
A classic case of mistaken identity
After a complaint from Vallee d'Aoste, Norwich later released an official statement on their club website that reads:
“In our original match report for this warm-up fixture, acting in good faith on the basis of information given to the Club, we incorrectly reported that we had played against local club side SC Vallée d’Aoste. In fact the game was against an Aosta regional select side and we are happy to put the record straight and apologise to SC Vallée d’Aoste and their fans for the misunderstanding.”
“The game was convened at very short notice following the late cancellation of our previously scheduled match against Novara. The hospitality shown to Norwich City Football Club by the people in Saint-Vincent and the surrounding area has been excellent and our training camp there has seen the squad continue to build their fitness levels, as we gear up for our three forthcoming friendlies against top-flight European opposition in the shape of SC Bastia, OGC Nice and Celta Vigo.”
Norwich had earlier thrashed the regional side with a total of 13 goals on 23rd July, after Russell Martin, Anthony Pilkington, Jamar Loza and Jacob Murphy clinched their braces while Gary Hooper, Wes Hoolahan, Steven Whittaker, Nathan Redmond and Josh Murphy added a goal each to their tally.
Highlights from the match
