Rome, May 31 (IANS) Italian football club Parma have made public their frustration at being denied the chance to play in next season’s UEFA Europa League.
Parma finished in sixth place in the Serie A this season, a position that should take them to the qualifying rounds of the tournament, reports Xinhua.
But the Italian Football Association (FIGC) refused to permit Parma to compete in Europe due to an unpaid tax bill.
“It was something that none us ever wanted to read or hear,” Parma said in an official statement Friday.
“We do not hide our state of mind – it was a real blow, an indescribable feeling. After touching the sky, then came the news we didn’ t want to hear,” it said.
Then Parma seemed to suggest something more than their frustration.
“The feeling remains that there was an injustice. We have not bought games, shut referees in dressing rooms or administered EPO to our players,” they said in the statement.
“We haven’t distorted the championship, as has been known to happen in our beautiful country.”
“We achieved this through honesty. To see all this work thrown into the wind really hurts,” the statement said.