Maurizio Zamparini ready to sue Italian Football Federation for €50 million if Palermo are not admitted to Serie A
The outspoken businessman wants Frosinone - who controversially beat his club in last season's Serie B playoff final - thrown out of the top flight
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Your support makes all the difference.Palermo owner Maurizio Zamparini has not given up hope of getting his club admitted to Serie A this season and warned the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) that he will seek “at least €50 million in damages” if he is denied.
Frosinone beat Palermo 3-2 on aggregate in last season’s Serie B playoff final but the second leg was overshadowed by controversy, with Frosinone emerging 2-0 winners but subsequently given a two-match stadium ban for disrupting the game by throwing balls onto the pitch.
The match was also marred by a pitch invasion as well as a number of disputed refereeing decisions – most notably an apparent headbutt suffered by Palermo striker Ilija Nestorovski in the second half that went unpunished and referee Federico La Penna awarding a penalty, only to change his mind after furious protests from enraged Frosinone players.
Palermo’s appeal to have the match replayed or awarded to them – a decision that would see them replace Frosinone in the top flight – was rejected by the FIGC and Frosinone are three matches into their Serie A campaign, but Zamparini insists he will take legal action against Italian football authorities if they refuse to change their stance.
“We’re considering every possibility,” Zamparini told reporters outside court after seeing an appeal rejected by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), which currently wields control over Serie A.
“We’ll ask for the league to be stopped and Palermo readmitted. It’s justice, if they’d applied Article 17 then Frosinone would have stayed in Serie B.
“The league has just begun, it can be recovered. Or they’ll have to pay at least €50m in damages.”
Zamparini has established a reputation as one of Italian football’s most outspoken and controversial club owners since taking over Palermo in 2002.
His financial backing propelled the club into Serie A on two separate occasions and into several European campaigns, as well as creating the conditions for players such as Edinson Cavani, Javier Pastore, Paulo Dybala and Andrea Belotti to develop and be sold on for significant profit.
But he has also presided over more than 40 coaching changes in his 15 years as owner, and Palermo paid the price for the constant instability with relegation from Serie A in 2017.
Zamparini announced a proposed deal to sell Palermo to Italian former TV comedian Paul Baccaglini in March 2017, but called off the agreement four months later.
Last month he announced that he is in talks with two potential buyers – Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri and an unidentified American consortium.
Palermo currently lie 10th in Serie B, having drawn both of their first two matches.
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