Parma have been declared bankrupt following an uncontested 10-minute court hearing on Thursday.
The Serie A side are over €100 million in debt and have twice been docked points this season for failing to pay their staff and players.
On Wednesday, club president Giampietro Manenti was arrested for alleged fraud and money laundering and now, following a bankruptcy hearing, two receivers, Angelo Anedda and Alberto Guiotto, have been charged with finding a new owner, as well as managing the club through until the end of the season.
The court ruling is just the latest in a long line of blows for Parma, who have been rock-bottom of Serie A all season long.
Indeed, Roberto Donadoni's side finished sixth in Serie A last season but were prevented from competing in the Europa League after being denied a Uefa licence due to an unpaid tax bill.
Then owner Tommaso Ghirardi was enraged by the ruling and, after refusing to pump any more money into the club, eventually sold the Gialloblu to Rezart Taci for €1 in November.
Just two months later, however, Taci offloaded his share in the club to Manenti for the same price and Parma's financial situation has only worsened in the interim.
Indeed, they were forced to cancel last month's home clash with Udinese on February 22 because they were unable to pay stewards, while their subsequent trip to Genoa was called off after the players refused to travel.
Under pressure from Serie A's TV rights holder, Sky Sport Italia, the league's 19 other clubs voted in favour of a bail-out in order to allow Parma complete their 2014-15 campaign.
However, Thursday's ruling means that Parma's future beyond the summer remains very much in doubt. As things stand, Donadoni's side are 16 points from safety, with 13 games remaining.
No comments:
Post a Comment