Malagò blasts Parma buck-passing

(ANSA) - Rome, March 2 - Giovanni Malagò, the head of Italian Olympic Committee CONI, on Monday blasted the buck-passing in the case of bankruptcy-threatened Serie A side Parma and said the authorities were ready to intervene. "We're waiting for Friday's Serie A league assembly on Parma. Then I'll talk to (Cabinet) Secretary (Graziano) Delrio, not just unofficially but also via official channels," Malagò said. "If no one takes responsibility, then it will be the institutions' responsibility to identify who is to blame. "It's unacceptable that no one has said - it's my fault".
    Bottom side Parma's away game at Genoa was postponed last weekend, as was their home game the week before against Udinese, because of their financial plight. Parma's players have reportedly not been paid for over six months by the club, which has changed managers twice this season.
    Chairman Giampietro Manenti, the head of Slovenian-based Mapi group, has repeatedly said he is confident of saving the club.
    Parma were unable to take part in this season's Europa League, having won a place by coming sixth in Serie A last term, because of their finances and they had one league point deducted in December.
    They are a distant bottom in Serie A on 10 points, below Cesena with 19 and Cagliari with 20, and look doomed to relegation.
    If Parma are unable to complete the championship it will cause chaos for Italian football and could lead to claims that the whole Serie A season has been compromised.