Bologna have suspended four members of staff after they forgot to collect new signing Ibson from the airport.
The 30-year-old Brazilian agreed to join the Serie A side after his Corinthians contract was terminated by mutual consent, but he was left stranded when he touched down in Italy.
Ibson collected his bags and cleared passport control only to discover no Bologna officials had arrived. Instead, the midfielder was forced to hail a taxi ahead of undergoing a medical.
Bologna president Albano Guaraldi has temporarily suspended the club's general secretary Luca Befani, press officer Carlo Caliceti, technical advisor Adriano Polenta and Andrea Battacchi from the marketing department.
"It's the kind of thing which could happen at amateur level, but not at a club like Bologna," former defender Marcello Castellini told TuttoMercatoWeb.com. "It doesn't rain, it pours there. Things aren't going well and then this kind of situation arises which just worsens things.
"It shows how much confusion there is within the club. I know that the president has taken action and he'll be demanding answers during the board meeting tomorrow, but what happened is unacceptable."