Serie A Giants Relegated Following Match-Fixing

Match-Fixing Scandal
By Chris O'Brien
July 25 2006

Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have all been relegated to Serie B as judgements were reached on the controversial match-fixing scandal in Italy. The news has already alerted United boss Sir Alex Ferguson who could use the opportunity to pick up some cut-price bargains.

Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have all been relegated to Serie B as some of Europe's leading clubs pay the price for a match-fixing scandal that has dogged Italian club football.

Juve have been stripped of their last two Serie A league titles and will also kick-off next year's Serie B campaign with a shocking 30-point deduction. Lazio will kick-off the new league season with a seven point disadvantage while Fiorentina will suffer a 12-point penalty.

AC Milan were spared relegation but will kick-off next year's Scuedtto campaign with a 15-point reduction that will dramatically reduce their chances of European qualification.

The scandal circles around transcripts of phone taps which show top officials within the Italian game piling pressure on referees to favour the league's biggest clubs. The news has dominated Italian news headlines for months, and though no players are involved in the match-fixing, it has threatened to cripple the reputation of Italian club football. It makes their World Cup triumph even more remarkable.

The news is set to have alerted the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson who may exploit the opportunity to bring some of Europe's top talent to Old Trafford in a cut price deal. United are yet to welcome any arrivals to the Theatre of Dreams, but speculation is already linking Fiorentina's Luca Toni, Juventus duo Pavel Nedved and Patrick Viera (seriously?!) and Milan's Gennaro Ivan Gattuso with moves to the Premiership.

The punishments have certainly given United some tasty transfer targets as they look to wrestle back the Premiership crown from Chelsea and re-establish themselves on the continent.

The Punishments:

	JUVENTUS Relegated to Serie B Will start the new season with a 30-point deduction Stripped of previous two Scudetto titles Suspended from 2007 Champions League
	LAZIO Relegated to Serie B Will start the new season with a 7-point deduction Suspended from the 2007 Uefa Cup
	FIORENTINA Relegated to Serie B Will start the new season with a 12-point deduction Suspended from the 2007 Champions League
	AC MILAN Deducted 15 points for new Serie A campaign Suspended from the 2007 Champions League Slapped with a 44-point penalty for last season which means the club officials finished Scudetto in 11th, not 2nd.

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