Italian league to loan Parma 5 million euros

The Italian professional football league (Lega) on Friday voted in favour of loaning Parma five million euros in a bid to help the cash-strapped Serie A side see out the remainder of the season. Parma will now be in a position to host Atalanta in the league on Sunday, their unpaid players having refused to play their last two league games, at Genoa away and at home to Udinese. The Lega said Parma should play until March 19, when a bankruptcy hearing is due to decide whether the club can continue operating. If it rules no, Parma will not complete its remaining fixtures. Carlo Tavecchio, the president of the Italian football federation (FIGC), was scheduled to travel to Parma later Friday to meet the club's players and explain to them the financing plan. Sixteen of the 20 Serie A teams voted in favour of the plan. There were three abstentions, from Roma, Napoli and Sassuolo, while Cesena voted against. The club is said to be 100 million euros ($113 million) in debt with some 17 million euros owed to the tax authorities. Serie A has already docked the squad a penalty point as result of delays in meeting players' salaries. If Parma do drop out of this season's league, all previous results stand and future results are recorded as a 3-0 win to the opposition.