Sampdoria suffered food poisoning on the eve of the derby against Spezia (0:0) in the Italian Serie B. According to the newspaper Il Secolo XIX, the team had lunch at a local restaurant specializing in fish dishes, but something went wrong.
At a press conference after the game, Samp coach Andrea Pirlo admitted that several members of his technical team, as well as many players, were suffering from serious stomach problems.
Right-back Fabio Depaoli was one of the hardest hit. The player who was supposed to start was on the bench, and the newspaper writes that in the second half of the match he still had to run to the toilet.
Other Pirlo players were unable to even enter the stadium, such as Gerard Yepes, Daniele Ghilardi, Antonio Barreca and Andrea Conti. Il Secolo XIX states that the crew suffered from dysentery, an intestinal disease caused by bacteria.