Rome (dpa)
The presidents of Juventus, Napoli and Tottenham are facing long periods of suspension, due to their involvement in a financial scandal in Italy.
At the beginning of the hearing at the Italian Football Federation Court of Sports, prosecutors called for a 12-month ban on Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, and a ban of more than 16 months on former team manager Fabio Paratici.
Paratici has been working as a sporting director at Tottenham Hotspur since the summer of 2021, and Agnelli, Paratici and 59 other officials were accused of falsifying financial reports for 11 clubs, including five in the Italian Premier League, in recent years.
According to the accusations, the defendants gave some of their players high financial values, which allowed them to make big gains and get some perks, additions and performance bonuses, the value of which was much higher than it was supposed to be.
Prosecutors also demanded that Aurelo De Laurentiis, owner and president of Napoli, be suspended for more than 11 months.
Czech Pavel Nedved, former Juventus midfielder and current vice-president of the club, faces an eight-month ban. In addition, Juventus has been asked for a fine of up to 800,000 euros, while Napoli has been asked for 392,000 euros.
The Italian newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, reported that a preliminary ruling is expected shortly after Easter, with the possibility of an appeal hearing next May.
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