Norwich apologise over friendly rout report

London (AFP) - English second-tier side Norwich City issued an apology on Friday after claiming to have won a pre-season friendly 13-0 against an Italian team that they had not actually played.

After a match against Italian third-division team Novara was cancelled, Norwich thought they had set up a game against Serie D outfit Saint-Christophe Vallee d'Aoste.

However, when a match report appeared on the Norwich website, the Italian club complained that they had not been involved, and that the real opponents had been a select XI of local non-professional players.

"In our original match report for this warm-up fixture, acting in good faith on the basis of information given to the club, we incorrectly reported that we had played against local club side SC Vallee d'Aoste," Norwich said in a statement on their website.

"In fact the game was against an Aosta regional select side and we are happy to put the record straight and apologise to SC Vallee d'Aoste and their fans for the misunderstanding."

Norwich were relegated from the Premier League last season after a three-year spell in the top flight and will start the 2014-15 campaign in the Championship.