Fans of third-division soccer club Pescara have reportedly threatened to boycott next weekend's regional elections in Abruzzo unless Premier Silvio Berlusconi steps in and saves the crisis-hit club.
According to a story in Tuesday's Corriere della Sera, the fans have written to Berlusconi and promised votes if the billionaire media magnate ''rescues the team''.
A meeting between Pescara's former owner Gerardo Soglia, who is an MP for Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PdL) party, and the PdL's deputy Senate whip Gaetano Quagliarello, has reportedly been set up to discuss the matter.
Pescara coach Giuseppe Galderisi, the former Juventus and Italy striker, said Tuesday: ''I respect the initiative of our splendid fans but I'd prefer to keep sport and politics separate''.
Pescara, which has had five seasons in the top flight, mainly in the 1980s, was relegated from Serie B last year after 15 years in the second division.
Soglia tried to sell it to an unnamed Swiss company but the deal was blocked after a fan rebellion, leaving the club without an owner.
