• Forward sent messages to rival team before promotion match • Parma will retain Serie A status but will lose five points

The Parma forward Emanuele Calaiò has been banned for two years for attempted match-fixing while the club have been docked five points but will retain their Serie A status for the 2018‑19 season.

Calaiò was also fined €20,000 (£17,800) on Monday after sending suspect text messages to opposing players before the final match of the Serie B season in May, with Parma needing to beat Spezia to secure automatic promotion.

Italy’s national federal court imposed the sanction after Calaiò sent four “suspicious messages” on WhatsApp to the Spezia defender Filippo De Col four days before the match, encouraging him not to try too hard and said the same to his teammate Claudio Terzi. The first one read: “Hey Pippein [De Col] you better not give me a hard time Friday my friend,” before two more that read: “Tell that too Claudiein [Terzi] too”, and “Especially with the relationship you have with me.”

The rush after Russia – Premier League clubs struggle with new transfer deadline Read more

After getting no response, Calaio sent another message several hours later: “However Pippein be calm I was joking anyways for me it’s the same after all I’ll retire in a bit.”

The 24-year-old De Col, who had last received a message from Calaio in December, immediately showed the messages to the Spezia team manager, and the authorities were then informed.

Parma won 2-0 to finish in second place and return to the top flight just three years after being declared bankrupt. They became the first Italian club to earn three successive promotions, in what was seen as a fairytale rise back to the top.

The club have denied any wrongdoing, saying the messages “don’t contain any sort of irregularity or malice” and have said they will appeal against the verdict.

“We consider the condemnation of our employee Emanuele Calaiò to be abnormal in respect to the facts that led to his referral and the inquiry, and the very heavy penalty inflicted on our club for objective responsibility illogical and in contrast with recent sporting judgments.

“We trust that the complete lack of connection of Parma to any unlawful behaviour will be recognised by the federal court of appeal, to which we will resort in a short matter of time, in the hope of finding justice.”