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Parma's Tommaso Ghirardi resigns

Parma president Tommaso Ghirardi is resigning and putting the club up for sale after the club were denied a spot in the Europa League over an underpaid tax bill.

Ghirardi said: "You football people should be ashamed with yourselves. They have taken away a deserved success that was earned on the pitch."

On Thursday, Parma lost their appeal against a decision not to grant a UEFA licence for next season and Torino took their place in the Europa League.

Parma were denied the licence for underpaying a tax bill by 300,000 euros ($408,000).

Ghirardi added that "only someone stupid could think I wanted to save 300,000 euros -- or 0.6 percent of what was owed."

Ghirardi bought Parma in 2007 and rescued them from the financial scandal involving parent company Parmalat.

Parma secured a place in Europe with a 2-0 win over Livorno on the final day of the season, taking them one point ahead of Torino, who were held to a draw by Fiorentina.

Parma has one remaining appeal option: to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.

Parma have since paid the outstanding tax, but the CONI have ruled that the initial deadline was "not arbitrary" and that the late payment was "inexcusable". As a result, they were automatically excluded from receiving a licence, according to UEFA's licensing laws.