Arbitration set for clubs in scandal

Juventus and three other clubs at the center of Italy's match-fixing scandal could have their point penalties reduced by an arbitration board this week. The board, which was created by the Italian Olympic Committee but acts independently, is the highest grade of justice in Italian sports.

Juventus, Lazio and AC Milan will appear before the board on Wednesday. Fiorentina will have its hearing Thursday. Juventus was stripped of its last two Serie A titles, demoted to Serie B and docked 17 points by a sports tribunal on July 25, following an appeal.

Fiorentina, Lazio and Milan escaped relegation but were docked points in Serie A - 19 for Fiorentina, 11 for Lazio and eight for Milan.

According to Monday's Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus stands to have its penalty reduced by five-to-eight points, Fiorentina by six-to-nine points, Lazio by four-to-six points and Milan two-to-four points.

Sentences may not be handed down immediately and the board could require more hearings.

"We're optimistic," Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said. "We're expecting understanding and justice."

Juventus withdrew its plans to appeal to an ordinary court in August after receiving "signals of willingness" from sports officials to conclude the situation fairly.

"There is no agreement, just acknowledgment of the steps Juventus has taken," Cobolli Gigli said.

Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentis said it would be absurd to change a sentence after a few games. "If it was done while the market was still open, teams could have been able to make provisions and reinforce themselves," De Laurentis said. "Doing it now would be against every type of consistency and fairness. But anything can happen in this world."

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said his team will do well enough this season to gain promotion back into Serie A "no matter what happens Wednesday."

"We're going to get back in Serie A on the field," Buffon said.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.