Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Lazio, Fiorentina returned as Juventus remain in Serie B

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Lazio and Fiorentina have regained their Serie A status on appeal from their Calciopoli verdicts, however Juventus will remain in Serie B this term.
Lazio and Fiorentina have been reinstated to Serie A - but with points deductions increased from 12 to 19 for Fiorentina and seven to 11 for Lazio.
Juventus' hopes of overturning demotion to Serie B were dashed, but instead of starting on minus 30 points, they have only had 17 points taken away.
AC Milan stay in Serie A with their penalty cut from 15 points to eight.
Milan have also been allowed to play in the Champions League qualifying rounds this season - having originally been barred from Europe.
But the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) sports court upheld the decision to strip Juventus of their last two Serie A titles.
The court also confirmed the five-year bans for former Juventus executives Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo - the figures at the centre of the scandal.
In addition, Juventus and Fiorentina were told they must play their first three home games of the 2006-07 campaigns at neutral grounds. Lazio were given a two-match stadium ban and Milan one match.
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About 300 fans of local club Lazio gathered outside to cheer the decision to promote the team back to Serie A.
Juventus are now the only one of the four implicated clubs to be demoted to Serie B, and the Turin club immediately said on Tuesday evening they would now appeal again - possibly through a civil court if necessary.
Juve's club lawyer Cesare Zaccone told Italian news agency Ansa the appeal court's decision was "incredible."
And club chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said in a statement: "We absolutely cannot accept this sentence. For this reason we have decided to push our case in every possible forum."
Fiorentina owner Diego Della Valle also raised the possibility of an appeal in the civil courts, saying after the hearing: "It's the first step. We haven't done anything and we will go down every avenue to clear our name."
Della Valle, who saw his four-year ban for his involvement in the scandal reduced by three months, added: "We won a place in the Champions League on the pitch and we will keep going until they give it back to us."
Lazio president Claudio Lotito added: "I'm not satisfied at all. Lazio has not broken any rule. The fact that we will not be taking part in the Uefa Cup is not in line with the truth."
AC Milan were the only one of the four clubs to express anything like relief at the lessening of their punishment.
"For a club that asked for a complete annulment (of the tribunal's sentence) it cannot be considered a victory," said their lawyer Leandro Cantamessa.
"But bearing in mind the tribunal's sentence, which was like being in front of a firing squad, this is much better."
Asked whether Milan intended to follow the example of the other three clubs and pursue the case in the civil courts, Cantamessa replied: "I don't know. We'll see.
"We are in the Champions League, otherwise I would not even be moderately happy".
The big losers from the appeal decisions are Lecce and Treviso.
The bottom two clubs in Serie A last season, they were reinstated to Serie A along with 18th-placed Messina after the original verdict.
But now Fiorentina and Lazio are back in Serie A, Lecce and Treviso will be relegated after all. Messina stay up, taking Juventus' place in the top-flight, although they will now fear the Turin club's next appeal.