Serie A side Parma's match against Udinese on Sunday has been postponed "with the club unable to pay for security and electricity as the club's future hangs in the balance," according to the AP. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirmed the postponement after Parma officials "announced that the only way the match could be played was without fans." Bottom-placed Parma was "recently sold for the second time this season, with Giampietro Manenti taking over as new owner and president from the Russian-Cypriot conglomerate which had taken control in December." The club was deducted one point earlier this season for "failing to pay players' wages." With salaries "still unpaid, another heftier penalty is likely soon." TV Parma and La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the Slovenian bank account for Manenti's company, Mapi Group, was "emptied out and closed on Thursday." Youth team coach Hernan Crespo said, "It really hurts to see and live through this situation. We are all working just for the good of the lads and today only played because the gardeners did us a favor. ... We are falling apart. We want to continue going forward, because we love this club and these lads, but it hurts to see the situation this training ground has been reduced to." Parma Mayor Federico Pizzarotti is "also concerned." He said, "I saw nothing reassuring from a financial point of view. The problem now is that not only is it an economic factor, but also one of credibility. We'll update the situation day by day" (AP, 2/22). In London, Arash Hekmat wrote "reports coming out of Italy suggest that Parma have been dissolved." The club has reportedly "racked up" a debt of €197M ($224.4M). But now that cash reserves have "finally run out," the FIGC has been "forced to dissolve the club and automatically relegate them." While no "official confirmation has yet been given, it is understood that all of Parma's remaining games this year will be recorded as 3-0 losses" (DAILY MIRROR, 2/21).
