ITALY: SOCCER / FOOTBALL - Juventus fails to persuade Italy's football federation to repeal their relegation to the second division following a match-fixing trial

Juventus has failed to persuade Italy's football federation to repeal their relegation to the second division following a match-fixing trial, the club said in a statement on Friday (August 18). A soccer tribunal stripped Juve of their last two Italian titles and demoted them to Serie B where they will start the season with a 17-point deduction. The Italian Olympic Committee's (CONI) conciliation court brought together Juventus directors and the soccer federation on Friday to seek an agreement regarding the club's appeal for a more lenient sentence, with Juventus demanding a return to Serie A. But the Juventus statement said the meeting had "not resulted in any conciliation" and that the board would meet on Monday to decide its next move. Before Friday's meeting, Juventus had said it was ready to turn to a regional court if the appeal to sporting bodies such as the Olympic Committee's conciliation court failed. Juventus chairman Giovanni Cobilli Gigli had said the Turin club expected the same punishment as three others involved in the scandal, Lazio, Fiorentina and AC Milan, who kept their places in the top division but with points penalties. The other three clubs and several individuals who were punished by the tribunal are also taking their cases to CONI in the coming weeks. Juve's demotion has led to a number of their top players leaving the club, among them Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, who has gone to Real Madrid, while Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sold to Inter Milan. Coach Fabio Capello left for Real Madrid and has been replaced by former Juve player Didier Deschamps. Juve's fourth-quarter revenues slumped by almost 23 million euros to 3 million euros. The club said the uncertain outlook linked to the failure to take part in the Champions League -- Europe's premier club tournament -- and the relegation to Serie B would hurt its financial results in the 2006/07 fiscal year.

ITN Source | August 19, 2006

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