Liverpool's Champions League qualification rivals Tottenham have suffered a set-back after one of their directors was slapped with a suspension from the sport.
Fabio Paratici has been given a two-and-a-half year ban from football by the Italian Football Federation after the Turin Public Prosecutor's Office investigation into 'false accounting' and 'market manipulation' at Juventus.
An investigation was re-opened into Juve's finances last year, with the prosecutor alleging that the club misrepresented financial losses in the period from 2018-2020, with particular scrutiny cast over the amount recorded for player sales.
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The result of the investigation is that the Old Lady have been handed a 15-point deduction in Serie A with owner Andrea Agnelli banned for two years. Former Juve player Pavel Nedved - who resigned as a director of the club in October - was given an eight-month ban.
Paratici was at Juventus for 11 years before joining Tottenham as their managing director in 2021. He has been given a 30-month temporary ban from carrying out activities within the FIGC, with a request for that to be extended to competitions within UEFA and FIFA.
The Italian giants have been accused of inflating transfer fees in dealings with other Italian clubs over three seasons to create millions of pounds in "capital gains" for tax purposes that manipulated the system to free up their spending powers in the market.
The ruling creates a headache for Tottenham owner Daniel Levy who must now decide how to reshuffle his backroom hierarchy. Spurs are currently fifth in the Premier League, five points outside the top four and five clear of Liverpool.
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