Parma captain Alessandro Lucarelli yesterday threatened to lead his teammates on strike had the Italian football federation not postponed tomorrow’s match.

The Italian side are facing bankruptcy and have not paid their staff or players since last summer. 

Last weekend’s match against Udinese was called off due to the club not being able to pay for security and stewards. 

Tomorrow’s match against Genoa was meant to go ahead but Lucarelli had declared that unless the match is postponed, the players will go on strike after a positive meeting with Associazione Italiana Calciatori (AIC), the player’s union in Serie A.

“We will not play in Genoa,” Lucarelli told his club’s official website. “We have requested for the game to be postponed.

“If they don’t grant us that, then we will go on strike and we will be given a 3-0 defeat.

“We took this decision after a meeting with the AIC.”

But president Carlo Tavecchio announced that they have agreed to postpone the match but for the last time.

“Having taken into consideration the state of the players and having evaluated the request of the players’ and coaches’ associations, we’re postponing the match,” Tavecchio said. “But this will be the last time.”

Earlier on yesterday, the cash-strapped club had reportedly signed a €20,000 (£14,502) one-match deal with an unnamed sponsor that would cover this weekend’s travel and hotel costs but the players were rumoured to have turned the money away.

In a show of solidarity, the AIC announced on Thursday that all Serie A squads will go on the field 15 minutes late this weekend.

The players association said there should “be some serious reflection over the rules for entering leagues” and on the financial resources of clubs “to avoid repeating similar situations at any professional level.”