Italian cheats prosper
Three of the Italian clubs found guilty of match fixing have again had their penalties cut, this time by the Arbitration Court of the Italian Olympic Committee.
Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina all benefited from the generosity from the highest level of sports justice in Italy.
But AC Milan failed in their bid to have their eight-point penalty from the start of the season reduced.
All four sides had already seen their original penalties dramatically reduced and Lazio will be breathing the biggest sigh of relief having had theirs slashed from 11 points to just three, incredibly they had originally they had been relegated to Serie B.
Juventus, relegated to Serie B and originally docked 30 points, saw their penalty cut from 17 to nine points while Fiorentina’s Serie A deficit was slightly reduced from 19 to 15 points.
Reggina, the only other club involved in the match-fixing scandal, is still awaiting a decision on its appeal.
Juventus welcomed the ruling saying, “It recognises at least in part the enormous effort and spirit of sacrifice shown by the club in renewing its internal structure and promoting the values of the sport to the benefit of the whole of the national game”.
Showing a certain detachment from reality, Lazio President Claudio Lotito said, “It’s not a total victory because I point out yet again we haven’t seen all the light shone on the truth. But I accept the court’s ruling in good faith.”
It was thought that the ruling may have been held over until Monday due to concerns the decisions may cause violence at the weekend’s matches.
The sports authorities were said to be particularly concerned about the safety of fans at Saturday’s Milan derby.
The match-fixing scandal began in May after newspapers published transcripts of intercepted telephone conversations between the then Juventus general manager, Luciano Moggi, telling the head of Italy’s referees’ association which officials to appoint to specific Juventus games.
Moggi was banned from any involvement in sport for five years for using his considerable power and influence at Italy’s most successful club to assert control of the pool of referees and high-ranking FIGC officials.