Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Fabio Paratici has had his ban from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) extended by FIFA over alleged financial misconduct – which could impact his position in the Premier League.
Paratici was set to lead the search for Tottenham’s next manager after Antonio Conte left the club by mutual consent on Sunday.
FIFA confirmed in a statement on Wednesday morning that they had extended Paratici’s 30-month ban the athlete.
It states: “FIFA can confirm that the Chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided, at the request of the FIGC, to extend the sanctions imposed by the FIGC on several football officials with worldwide effect.”
The 50-year-old is one of 12 former Juventus executives who have been banned from Italian football after the FIGC used new evidence collected in a separate criminal investigation called Prisma to reopen a case they dropped last year lost that time.
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What does this mean for Spurs?
Jack Pitt-Brooke, Tottenham correspondent: If Fabio Paratici is now handed a football ban everywhere – including England – and not just in Italy, it certainly means he can no longer remain Tottenham’s managing director of football. It will be deeply embarrassing for the club on many levels.
Firstly because they created this huge task of reorganizing the structure of the club for a person who apparently can no longer stay in his role. It raises serious questions as to whether due diligence was conducted when Daniel Levy decided to nominate him to the post in May 2021.
Then there’s the question of how Spurs have reacted since Paratici was first suspended in Italy. As a club, they haven’t said anything at all about Paratici’s future. When it appeared he might be sidelined at Spurs – he was not mentioned in the official statement announcing Antonio Conte’s departure on Sunday night – he was brought out for an interview on the club’s website on Tuesday night.
That interview was still available on the Spurs website as of Wednesday night, when FIFA confirmed the Italian FA’s banned list would now be banned from football everywhere.
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Who else has been banned?
The FIGC ban included 10 Juventus executives as well as Paratici. These included the club’s then-chairman Andrea Agnelli, who was facing a 24-month ban, as well as ex-Juventus player-turned-director Pavel Nedved, who was suspended for eight months.
The ban of all 11 people in Italian football has been extended by FIFA. They are as follows:
- Fabio Paratici
- Federico Cherubini
- Andrea Agnelli
- Pavel Nedved
- Enrico Velano
- Paolo Garimberti
- Assia Grazioli Venier
- Maurizio Arrivabene
- Caitlin Mary Hughes
- Daniela Marilungo
- Francesco Roncaglio
What is Juventus accused of?
Juventus are accused of false corporate communications, false disclosures to the stock exchange and obstruction of a regulator (CONSOB), with prosecutors claiming transfer earnings were artificially inflated to balance their books.
They have since been handed a 15-point deduction for that Serie A season.
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(Photo: Getty Images)
