Parma will start the 2018-19 Serie A season with a five-point deduction as a result of Emanuele Calaio – who has received a two-year ban – sending “suspicious” messages to Spezia players last term,National Daily learnt.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) had been investigating texts sent by Calaio – who used to play for Spezia – to former team-mates Filippo De Col and Claudio Terzi ahead of the Serie B fixture between the teams at the end of the 2017-18 season.
In the FIGC’s case document, which names both De Col and Terzi, it accuses Calaio of “trying to get less competition commitment from the players of Spezia”.
Parma won 2-0 to secure a third successive promotion, though media reports suggested they were in danger of having two points from that match voided, subsequently seeing them drop back into the second tier.
However, FIGC have instead punished them for the coming season, while Calaio has been hit with both a lengthy ban and also a €20,000 fine.