FORMER Celtic and Hibernian midfielder Liam Henderson’s Italian adventure has taken another dramatic turn after authorities decided to suspend Serie B three weeks into the season.
The playmaker was forced to find a new club in the summer after Bari were declared bankrupt and sent down to the fourth tier of the Italian game.
He was subsequently reunited with coach Fabio Grosso at Hellas Verona and started the season brightly, but a tumultuous few months off the pitch resulted in the suspension of league duties on Tuesday.
Bari, Cesena and Avellino were all sent down in the summer after going bust and Lega Serie B made the controversial decision to leave the league with 19 teams rather than promote another three to restore the traditional 22-team format.
Five sides hoping to gain promotion to the second tier – Catania, Siena, Novara, Ternana and Pro Vercelli – then mounted legal challenges to state their case.
The matter appeared to be laid to rest when CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee, rejected the appeal of the five teams seeking admittance to Serie B, but it was blown wide open again on Saturday when Pro Vercelli won an appeal to suspend the ruling.
Franco Frattini, a member of the high court of sports justice at CONI, then revealed that fixtures will now be put on hold as a decision is made on the make-up of the league.
“The Regional Administrative Court of Lazio, in addition to suspending the sentence, has suspended the league,” he said.
“On Friday 21, the Guarantee Committee will review the issue in a completely new light and that’s when it’ll be decided if Serie B goes ahead with 22 or 19 teams.
“If it’s the former [22 teams], the three teams [who are promoted] will be decided on Monday.”
Henderson has impressed since making the move to the Italian second tier in January and earned accolades for his performance in Verona’s 4-1 win over Carpi on Sunday, which included a back-heel assist from the Scot.
The 22-year-old isn’t the only Scottish player trying to make his name on the peninsula, as highly-rated Under-21 international Harvey St Clair joined Venezia from Chelsea in the summer in a bid to gain regular first-team football.
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