Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
CATANIA – An exhausting and thrilling battle of online bids has returned a vital piece of identity to the city of Catania and its people. At 12.11pm the bankruptcy auction for the historic badge of club number 11,700, Catania Calcio — the team that disappeared in 2022 — officially ended.
The winner of the decades-old red-and-white symbol is Catania FC, led by the Italian-Australian owner Ross Pelligra, after an uncertain contest that was supposed to close at 11am but ran over by more than an hour because of the rivals’ repeated bids.
Duel to the final bid with Revolution Group: winning offer €250,000
The title to the badge was fought over in a head-to-head duel between Catania FC and the Revolution Group. The intense bidding war stopped only when the club’s deputy vice president, Vincenzo Grella, placed the round, winning figure of €250,000.
From Revolution Group’s headquarters came satisfaction at having conducted the contest “with heads held high”, despite the doubts and fierce criticism expressed by the public and the organised fans in the days leading up to the auction.
Catania FC now has seven days to pay the agreed amount to the bankruptcy receivership. In addition to the €250,000 winning bid, the Pelligra ownership will pay an estimated extra €100,000 in taxes, procedural costs and bureaucratic fees to complete the transfer process and the physical acquisition of the badge.
Fan excitement and Vincenzo Grella’s celebratory T-shirt
The official announcement came directly on the club’s social media channels via the platform X, triggering a unanimous wave of excitement among the fans. The “badge” operation follows hot on the heels of another historic milestone achieved by the Pelligra ownership: the acquisition and reopening process of the Torre del Grifo Village sports centre.
As the auction result was announced, the deputy vice president Vincenzo Grella proudly displayed a special celebratory shirt featuring the three badges that have marked the historic evolution of the red-and-white team: a piece of merchandise that could soon accompany the launch of the club’s new commercial and branding initiatives.
