Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini could not hold back his rage at yesterday’s ‘stupid, absurd’ decision to give Parma a relegation reprieve.
An investigation by the FIGC into suspicious text messages sent by Parma’s Emanuele Calaio to Spezia players Filippo de Col and Claudio Terzi ended yesterday.
Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini could not hold back his rage at yesterday’s ‘stupid, absurd’ decision to give Parma a relegation reprieve.
An investigation by the FIGC into suspicious text messages sent by Parma’s Emanuele Calaio to Spezia players Filippo de Col and Claudio Terzi ended yesterday.
Calaio was found guilty of trying to ‘elicit a reduced effort’ from his former Spezia teammates ahead of the final Serie B matchday of last season – with Parma subsequently beating Spezia 2-0 to secure promotion to Serie A ahead of Frosinone and Palermo, who had to settle for the play-offs.
As such, the player has been handed a two-year ban, while Parma have been deducted five points from the start of next season’s Serie A.
However, Zamparini is furious that Parma’s punishment was not applied to last season.
“What did they give Calaio in the end? Two years?” the Sicily club’s patron said to Giornale di Sicilia.
“There you are. They punished the player, they found the club guilty and at that point the sanction should be a three point deduction.
“They should have taken off what they got against Spezia.
“This is shameful, they should have taken off those three points.
“They really have been stupid to recognise that a crime was committed, then they got the punishment wrong.
“They admitted that the offence happened, without applying the punishment to the Spezia-Parma match. It’s absurd.”
Zamparini added that he wants the damages of the cost of Palermo’s failed promotion bid paid for.
“I want the damages paid for, but I’m not stopping here.
“I feared that they [Parma] would try to make it look like it was a joke, as they would if they were being clever.”