'The saddest moment in Cagliari's history' - Riva rues decision to award Roma victory

Sep 25, 2012 1:00:00 AM

The legendary striker is struggling to come to terms with the decision to hand the Giallorossi all three points, but denies Massimo Cellino is solely to blame

Luigi Riva has described Roma's 3-0 default win over Cagliari as the "saddest moment in the club's history".

The match was due to be played behind closed doors as the Stadio Is Arenas was not deemed ready to cater supporters, but Rossoblu president Massimo Cellino refused to comply with authorities, instead urging fans of both sides to ignore the warnings and attend the fixture.

His course of action led to an eventual abandonment, whereby the Giallorossi were awarded the victory without kicking a ball, and the legendary striker spoke of his regret at the incident.

"This is the saddest moment in the history of Cagliari," Riva told Castedduonline. "This story leaves people further away from football."

"I think being a president of a football club does not allow anyone to challenge the rules and authorities. Think of the dangers that the situation would have created if the fans had accepted the invitation and went to the stadium.

"But if there were no incidents with the police and we had escaped the threat of deaths, it would be difficult to justify a lack of responsibility."

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