An Italian football appeal court upheld the relegation of Juventus to Serie B but reduced the penalty imposed on them in the match-fixing scandal from -30 points to -17. The court acquitted Fiorentina and Lazio who will rejoin the Serie A next season but with penalty points. Fiorentina begin the season with -19 point handicap while Lazio have a -11 points handicap. Milan came out as the biggest winners from the appeal, as their penalty points were reduced from 44 to 30, allowing them to book a place in the third qualifying round for next season's UEFA Champions League.
Milan will regain their European status Juventus, who were originally stripped of their last two Serie A titles and made to start next season in Serie B on minus 30 points said they will appeal the new verdicts. "We absolutely cannot accept this sentence," Juventus chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli was quoted as saying by Calcio Italia magazine after the verdict. "I find it serious and totally unfair the diversity of verdict that separates Juventus from the other clubs," he added. "For this reason, we have decided to continue our appeals in every possible forum," he continued. "I can assure everyone that we won't stop until justice is done, in the interest of our extraordinary fans, our shareholders, the club and the Italian championship."
