Fiorentina chief pledges more cash

AC Fiorentina owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori has promised to come up with two months of back pay owed to players and to inject more cash into the financially-troubled club.

More cash
Cecchi Gori is making around €4m available to pay two of the four months' worth of player wages still outstanding. Fiorentina managing director Sarkis Zerunian also confirmed the appointment of a new club board and revealed Cecchi Gori had found a further €8m to invest in the relegation-threatened club.

Player demands
Fiorentina executives are optimistic the club's players will now drop their request - made to the Italian Football Federation by ten of them last week - to have the club declared bankrupt because they are unable to pay salaries. Club officials are also hopeful that Portuguese striker Nuno Gomes and midfield player Marco Rossi will curtail their demands to have their contracts cancelled.

Court case
Even if all the players are convinced by the sudden cash injection, Fiorentina still face another hurdle on Friday when a Florence court will sit in judgement on a public prosecutor’s request to have the club declared bankrupt. Fiorentina have been in serious financial trouble since last summer, but Zerunian remains upbeat. He said: "We have taken giant steps. There’s a new company board, the company capital has been increased and Cecchi Gori has already paid up two months of back pay. For those reasons, we're confident [about Friday’s court case]."

Turin test
Whichever way Friday’s court hearing goes, Fiorentina face another difficult challenge 24 hours later when the first team take on Juventus FC in Turin. Fiorentina go into the game in second-last place in Serie A, seven points away from safety.