Three football clubs relegated to the second division over Serie A's biggest-ever scandal are preparing appeals against their punishment.
On Friday an Italian Football Federation (FIGC) tribunal sent Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina down to Serie B for their parts in a match-fixing ring, with penalties of 30, 12 and seven points respectively.
The fourth club implicated in the scandal, AC Milan, was allowed to stay in the top flight, but will start next season at -15 points.
Juventus CEO Giovanni Cobolli Gigli described the punishment inflicted on the Turin giant, which was also stripped of the 2005 and 2006 titles, as "unjust". His club will lodge an appeal with FIGC by Tuesday.
It is aiming to have the massive points penalty scrapped or at least softened.
The FIGC Federal Court is expected to start the appeal hearings on Friday and issue its verdicts on July 25, so that the whole disciplinary process is wrapped up before UEFA makes its draws for next season's European club competitions. If the 30-point penalty stands, it will probably force
Juve to stay in the second division for the next two seasons and out of European competition for three or more.
Juventus came off worst because its former general manager, Luciano Moggi, is the alleged mastermind behind a network set up to steer matches in some clubs' favour. Lazio and Fiorentina will appeal too. They are seeking to have their relegations overturned, arguing they have done no more wrong than Milan, and get off with points penalties.
Milan is likely to try to have its points penalty slashed.
It is also expected to appeal against the one-year ban from holding any role in Italian soccer imposed on Adriano Galliani, the former Soccer League chairman and AC Milan's no.2 behind former Premier Silvio Berlusconi. The clubs are not the only ones appealing though.
FIGC Prosecutor Stefano Palazzi is going to try to have Juventus's and Milan's punishment stiffened.
Originally Palazzi requested Juventus be sent down to the third division and Milan dumped into Serie B. Many parts of the Italian sports media have suggested the verdicts are harsh, especially on Lazio and Fiorentina, which were less deeply implicated than Juve in the web of
corruption, but have been sent down to the same tier. If the sentences are not softened on appeal, the clubs are expected to take the cases to the administrative courts.
However, experts say recent legislation has strengthened the independence of sporting justice, which means the administrative courts are unlikely to overrule the Federal Court's decisions. If the administrative courts are called in, the start of the next Serie A season will probably be delayed until September 10. At the moment it is scheduled to start August 16.
