Italian judge gives approval for sale of bankrupt Parma

PARMA, Italy (Reuters) - An Italian judge has given his approval for bankrupt Serie A club Parma to be put up for sale and binding offers of a minimum 20 million euros (14.05 million pounds) must be made by May 6, the club said on Tuesday.

If no valid offers are made by the deadline, four other bidding rounds may be launched, with the minimum price reduced by 25 percent with each consecutive round, Parma added in a statement on their website.

Parma's players have not been paid all season and have had to do their own laundry and drive the team bus, while games were postponed because the club could not afford stewards or police at their Tardini stadium.

It took 10 minutes for a court to declare the club, rooted to the bottom of the league after finishing sixth last season, bankrupt last month.

Parma have changed hands twice this season, firstly to a Russian-Cypriot conglomerate and then to the Slovenia-based Mapi group.

Tuesday's decision allows the club's receivers, accountants Angelo Anedda and Alberto Guiotto, to look for a buyer.

Parma have never won Serie A but lifted two UEFA Cups, in 1995 and 1999, the 1993 European Cup Winners' Cup and three Italian Cups in a successful spell between 1992 and 2002.

They were Serie A runners-up in 1997, led by current Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, and boasted players such as Gianfranco Zola, Faustino Asprilla and Hernan Crespo.

(Reporting by Valentina Accardo, writing by Agnieszka Flak; editing by Ken Ferris)