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Parma mayor: 50 percent chance of Atalanta Serie A tie being postponed

Parma's players will have to wait until Friday to find out if they will have a third straight game in Serie A postponed.

The Gialloblu have not played since holding Roma to a goalless draw on Feb. 15, and they are scheduled to host Atalanta on Sunday.

The club is on the brink of bankruptcy and the last two matches, at home to Udinese and away to Genoa, were put back as a result.

Italian Football Association (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio saying plans are in place to ensure the league returns to normality with a full schedule of fixtures this weekend.

"We have prepared a plan to ensure that they will definitely be playing this Sunday," Tavecchio said after a meeting with the mayor of Parma Federico Pizzarotti. "Today, we met with the mayor and the Lega Serie A and we have drawn up a plan which, having also informed the players, will now be put to the Lega Serie A on Friday."

However, mayor Pizzarotti told the Italian media: "There is a 50 percent chance that Sunday's game will go ahead. We are preparing a plan that will allow us to use the stadium but we need for someone to put in the resources."

Parma have not paid their fee for using the Ennio Tardini stadium since 2011 and reportedly owe 1.4 million euros to the municipality of Parma.

The city's council is in talks to try to take away the club's control of the venue and hand it to a third party.

Cash-strapped Parma have other debts as well: they have not paid their players or staff since the summer and face a bankruptcy hearing on March 19.

Pizzarotti recently urged local businessmen to consider buying Parma after feeling let down by new club owner Giampietro Manenti.

Manenti's Slovenian-based company Mapi Group became Parma's third owner this season when it purchased the club last month, and Manenti has not yet provided the capital to keep the Ducale outfit afloat.

Manenti has not taken kindly to Pizzarotti's actions, telling the club's official website: "If anyone is seriously interested in acquiring the club, they must get in touch with me or with the professionals that work for me.

"The mayor of Parma, Federico Pizzarotti, is not Parma's owner and has no mandate to negotiate the sale of the club."

The Italian Football League will meet on Friday with the Italian football players' association (AIC) president Damiano Tommasi to look for a way for Parma to finish the season.

"We need to find a solution to this problem that will allow the team to step onto the pitch," Tommasi said.

Parma, coached by former Italy boss Roberto Donadoni, have won just three games all season and sit at the foot of the table, 13 points adrift of safety with two games in hand.

There was further disappointment for Parma on Wednesday as the club's general manager Pietro Leonardi resigned.

"I have decided to step down from my position as general manager of Parma," Leonardi explained in a statement on the Serie A club's official website. "My health has deteriorated in recent times and the current situation which I have been unable to prevent no longer permits me to perform my duties to the best of my ability, while I do not want to be a burden on the current owners.

"I would like to thank my colleagues, all of the staff, the coaching team, the players and the fans with whom I have always had and will always have a very strong bond."

Leonardi has been hospitalised twice in recent months due to high blood pressure and heart irregularities, brought on by the stress caused by the prolonged situation of insecurity at the club.

ESPN FC correspondent Ben Gladwell contributed to this report.