Serie B strugglers Ascoli have condemned an incident on Saturday night which saw two of their players assaulted and threatened by their own fans.

Midfielder Samuele Parlati and goalkeeper Vincenzo Venditti were returning home from a 1-0 defeat away to Venezia, the bottom-placed Picchio's third consecutive loss in the Italian second tier.

According to Ascoli, the two players were accosted by a group of around 10 people with Ascoli scarves wrapped around their faces to hide their identity.

A punch was thrown at Parlati, who managed to dodge and ended up on the ground with his attacker, then Venditti rushed over to help and was struck.

The duo - neither of whom has featured much for Ascoli this season - were then told to pass on several threats to the rest of the team.

"The club, which is hoping that this episode is an isolated matter, has reported the individuals [to the police] and will also pursue legal action against anyone who writes intimidating posts on the web which seek to incite violence," Ascoli said in a statement.

The incident is the third such example of fans confronting players in European football this weekend, following similar incidents at Premier League club West Ham United and at Ligue 1 outfit Lille.