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</H5>With one of the most powerful sports bodies breathing down its neck, the Italian soccer federation has tightened the screws on Juventus.
The Italian federation (FIGC) said Wednesday it would impose further sanctions on Juventus if the Turin-based club appeals its sentence in a match-fixing scandal to a civil court in Rome.
FIFA, soccer's world governing body, warned the FIGC on Tuesday that it would ban Italy's national team, the reigning world champions, and all Italian clubs from international competitions if the federation did not prevent Juventus from appealing to the civil court known as the Tar of Lazio.
The Italian federation responded by sending a letter to FIFA, ensuring it would "not hesitate to open disciplinary proceedings [against Juventus] in the case of an appeal."
The FIGC also noted in the letter that Juventus has not yet lodged an appeal with the court.
'We're not doing anything wrong': Juventus lawyer
Juventus announced after a board meeting Monday that it planned to appeal to an administrative court in Rome.
"We're convinced we're not doing anything wrong, because we're simply applying a law of the Italian state," Juventus lawyer Riccardo Montanaro was quoted by the ANSA news agency.
On July 14, the Italian soccer federation stripped Juventus, the most successful club in Italian soccer history with 27 league titles, of its last two Serie A (first division) championships and relegated the Turin powerhouse to Serie B with a minus-30 point penalty.
Eleven days later, an appeals court cut Juventus' point penalty to 17 from 30 but upheld the decision that the club must start the 2006-07 season in the second division.
Lazio and Fiorentina, two other clubs implicated in the scandal, were readmitted to Serie A by the appeals court.
The fourth club involved, AC Milan, has been allowed to remain in Serie A, but with an eight-point deduction.
Sanctions 'excessive,' Juventus complains
After the second ruling, Juventus said the sanctions were still "excessive" and vowed to appeal "through all possible courts."
Last week, Juventus met with the soccer federation in an arbitration court meeting convened by the Italian Olympic Committee but failed to convince the Italian soccer authorities to reduce its sentence.
The Tar of Lazio is slated to begin looking at Juventus' appeal on Sept. 6. If the July 25 decisions are suspended or annulled, the start of the Serie A and B seasons on Sept. 9-10 could be delayed.
The original verdict in the match-fixing scandal came five days after Italy won the World Cup in Germany on July 9. Thirteen of the players on Italy's 23-man roster play for the four penalized teams.
High-ranking Italian soccer officials also received personal punishments, among them former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, who was issued a five-year suspension.
Moggi and another former Juventus executive were accused of creating a network of contacts with soccer federation officials to help influence referee assignments for their matches.
As a result of the original verdict, Juventus lost its spot in this season's Champions League, a tournament featuring the top European club teams. The event is a lucrative revenue source for soccer clubs through prize money, broadcast revenue and gate income.
The club's demotion has also led to a mass exodus of star players, among them Italian national team captain Fabio Cannavaro, Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic and French midfielder Patrick Vieira.
Coach Fabio Capello also left and was replaced by former Juventus player Didier Deschamps.
</H5>With one of the most powerful sports bodies breathing down its neck, the Italian soccer federation has tightened the screws on Juventus.
The Italian federation (FIGC) said Wednesday it would impose further sanctions on Juventus if the Turin-based club appeals its sentence in a match-fixing scandal to a civil court in Rome.
FIFA, soccer's world governing body, warned the FIGC on Tuesday that it would ban Italy's national team, the reigning world champions, and all Italian clubs from international competitions if the federation did not prevent Juventus from appealing to the civil court known as the Tar of Lazio.
The Italian federation responded by sending a letter to FIFA, ensuring it would "not hesitate to open disciplinary proceedings [against Juventus] in the case of an appeal."
The FIGC also noted in the letter that Juventus has not yet lodged an appeal with the court.
'We're not doing anything wrong': Juventus lawyer
Juventus announced after a board meeting Monday that it planned to appeal to an administrative court in Rome.
"We're convinced we're not doing anything wrong, because we're simply applying a law of the Italian state," Juventus lawyer Riccardo Montanaro was quoted by the ANSA news agency.
On July 14, the Italian soccer federation stripped Juventus, the most successful club in Italian soccer history with 27 league titles, of its last two Serie A (first division) championships and relegated the Turin powerhouse to Serie B with a minus-30 point penalty.
Eleven days later, an appeals court cut Juventus' point penalty to 17 from 30 but upheld the decision that the club must start the 2006-07 season in the second division.
Lazio and Fiorentina, two other clubs implicated in the scandal, were readmitted to Serie A by the appeals court.
The fourth club involved, AC Milan, has been allowed to remain in Serie A, but with an eight-point deduction.
Sanctions 'excessive,' Juventus complains
After the second ruling, Juventus said the sanctions were still "excessive" and vowed to appeal "through all possible courts."
Last week, Juventus met with the soccer federation in an arbitration court meeting convened by the Italian Olympic Committee but failed to convince the Italian soccer authorities to reduce its sentence.
The Tar of Lazio is slated to begin looking at Juventus' appeal on Sept. 6. If the July 25 decisions are suspended or annulled, the start of the Serie A and B seasons on Sept. 9-10 could be delayed.
The original verdict in the match-fixing scandal came five days after Italy won the World Cup in Germany on July 9. Thirteen of the players on Italy's 23-man roster play for the four penalized teams.
High-ranking Italian soccer officials also received personal punishments, among them former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, who was issued a five-year suspension.
Moggi and another former Juventus executive were accused of creating a network of contacts with soccer federation officials to help influence referee assignments for their matches.
As a result of the original verdict, Juventus lost its spot in this season's Champions League, a tournament featuring the top European club teams. The event is a lucrative revenue source for soccer clubs through prize money, broadcast revenue and gate income.
The club's demotion has also led to a mass exodus of star players, among them Italian national team captain Fabio Cannavaro, Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic and French midfielder Patrick Vieira.
Coach Fabio Capello also left and was replaced by former Juventus player Didier Deschamps.