Juventus is confident of getting a softer sentence when the final verdicts regarding the Calciopoli referee-rigging scandal are issued this week .
The Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) relegated the Turin club to Serie B, stripped it of the 2005 and 2006 titles and gave it a 17-point penalty for its part in the scandal .
That sentence - and those handed out to three other top clubs found guilty of involvement - may be revised Wednesday and Thursday at the final level of sporting justice, Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) arbitration .
"We expect them to see our point of view," said Riccardo Montanaro, one of Juve's lawyers, on Monday .
"We expect the (CONI) judge to re-evaluate the sentences to see whether they were right and fair" .
Juventus was the only one of the five guilty clubs to be relegated .
The FIGC allowed the others, Fiorentina, Reggina, Lazio and AC Milan, to stay in the top flight giving them penalties of 19, 15, 11 and eight points respectively .
Juve was hit hardest because Luciano Moggi, the club's former general manager, was allegedly the main villain in moves to have 'friendly' refs assigned to some teams' games .
But Juve says it is being made a scapegoat for all the ills of Italian soccer .
On Sunday Juventus coach Didier Dechamps said the differences between the severity of the punishments was "scandalous" .
While CONI insists nothing has been decided in advance, experts predict the sentences will be softened in a significant way at arbitration .
This is thought likely in order to reward Juventus and others for agreeing to keep the dispute within the realm of sporting justice .
The clubs had threatened to take their cases to the civil courts, a move that would have thrown the game into chaos .
Experts predict the points handicaps will be cut by 30-50% .
In Juventus' case, this would mean a reduction of 5-8 points. Juventus has already fought its way back to -4, after winning four of its first five games in the second division and drawing the other .
Sports Ministry Undersecretary Giovanni Lolli warned CONI not to be too lenient, claiming that a "whitewash" would upset the Italian public .
At the weekend the chairman of Genoa, Napoli and Brescia, three of Juve's main rivals for promotion, said it would be unfair to change the points situation with the season up and running .
Montanaro countered by arguing that the fact the season has started is of "no relevance" .
According to the pundits, Fiorentina's handicap will be softened by 6-9 points, Lazio's will be reduced by 4-6 and Milan's by 2-4 .
Reggina's sentence was issued after the other clubs', which is why its case has not reached CONI arbitration yet .
As things stand, Fiorentina is bottom of Serie A with -13 points, Reggina is 19th with -10 and Lazio is 18th with -2 .
Milan is the only club to have battled back into positive figures - it is 12th with three points after winning three games and drawing two .
Italian Soccer League President Antonio Matarrese forecast Monday that "moments of turbulence" are in store for the sport no matter what is decided at CONI arbitration .
