Italian giants AC Milan have launched a scathing attack on Juventus' new director and former Egypt coach Marco Tardelli after he claimed that the match-fixing verdict was biased in favor of Milan. The Rossoneri referred in their attack to the humiliating 6-0 defeat that Tardelli suffered at the hands of Milan while he was in charge of arch-rivals Inter in 2000/2001 season. "His comments are a mistimed tackle. Perhaps he's still hurting from a certain 6-0 derby defeat," read a statement in Milan's official website on Sunday. "It was the May 11th 2001 and it was probably the day that ended Tardelli's coaching career." Juventus have been stripped of the two league titles they won in 2005 and 2006 and the club will kick-off their Serie B campaign with 30 points deducted from their tally.
AC Milan, who also faced charges of sporting fraud, escaped relegation but will not play in the UEFA Champions League after 44 points were deducted from their last season's account. Tardelli said that all the clubs involved in the scandal should have been demoted to Serie B with no deduction of points. The 51-year-old, who played a pivotal role in Italy's 1982 World Cup glory, failed to make a reputation for himself during his coaching career. Tardelli was sacked by Inter following a miserable spell, and did not have any more success with Bari and Arezzo. He then took charge of the Egyptian national team but failed to make any impact. He was replaced by current manager Hassan Shehata after the team lost any hope qualifying to the 2006 World Cup.
