A football encounter involving Empoli and Lecce in the Italian Serie A was delayed on Monday due to fire in the dressing room.
The match between the two sides was scheduled to kick off at 6:30 PM local time but it was pushed further by an hour after a short circuit resulted in a small blaze in the changing room of Empoli.
Video clips of a fire engine outside the stadium and firefighters trying to stop the spread of the fire went viral on social media on Monday.
The Empoli and Lecce players alongside coaches were taken to safety as the emergency services got the fire incident sorted.
Due to the fire outbreak being electrical, it implied that a thorough investigation must be done before they can get the go-ahead to accommodate thousands of people into the 16,800 capacity Stadio Carlo Castellani.
Players of Empoli raised the alarm when they could perceive burning in the dressing room an hour before the commencement of the game.
Based on reports from DAZN, they noticed it was coming from the panels in the ceiling and was spreading fast.
The media only became acquainted of an issue when Empoli’s attacking midfielder Tommaso Baldanzi made use of the toilet in the press area.
And with just twenty minutes left before the original set time for kick off, opposing Lecce players including Frenchman Samuel Umtiti walked around the pitch in flip-flops and trainers in place of their boots.
Empoli defeated Lecce after 90 minutes of a keenly contested affair.
The game ended 1-0 as Lecce lost away at the Stadio Carlo Castellani via a Penalty, Francesco Caputo converted the decisive goal to hand the home side the victory.
As a result of that victory, Empoli have moved four points clear of Lecce and they currently occupy 14th on the Serie A table while their monday’s opponents sit 16th.
Gli Azzurri clashes against AC Milan in their next encounter in the Serie A, as they travel to Milan to face the defending champions of the league who smashed Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday.
They are 12 points away from Hellas Verona who currently occupy the first spot in the relegation zone and they would look to consolidate on their impressive showing this season.
Empoli are tutored by Paolo Zanetti and he has done a good job so far. Barring any catastrophic circumstances, Empoli would be in the Italian Serie A for the upcoming season.
The team’s home turf, Stadio Carlo Castellani, was built in 1923 and in 1965 the Italian side Empoli named their newly-built ground, Stadio Carlo Castellani to honour a club great.
Carlo Castellani was a former footballer born in nearby Montelupo Fiorentino who died prematurely after being deported to the concentration camp of Mauthausen.
