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After the court ruling, confirming the punishment for the scandal-ridden Italian clubs, the country's football federation decided to award the 2005/06 season champions title to the Milan club. It was already clear that no one would be crowned champions of the 2004/05 season.
Although Turin's "Juventus" team celebrated victory in the "Serie A" championship on May 14, after an investigation by the FIGC regarding links with referees, "Juve" lost the titles of the last two years' champions and was relegated to the "Serie B" league. The second-placed "Milan" lost 30 points and dropped to the third position behind the "Inter" and "Roma" clubs.
A special commission was formed, with former UEFA director Gerhard Aigner, professors Massimo Coccia from the Sports Arbitration Court, and Roberto Pardolesi. After hearing their opinions, the FIGC decided to appoint Milan's "Inter" club as the champions of the previous season.
"Extraordinary Commissioner Guido Rossi agreed with the decision of the special commission that there was no reason why the 'scudetto' (champions title) could not be awarded to the 'Inter' club based on the newly formed 'Serie A' tournament table after the court process," the FIGC statement read.
This means that the fans of the "black-and-blue" team can celebrate the title of Italian champions for the first time since 1989. This is the 14th "scudetto" in Milan club history, and it also means that the team became the owner of the double, as last season "Inter" also won the Italian Cup for the second year in a row.
Meanwhile, on the "red-and-black" side of Milan, the news is less favorable. Although they regained the right to participate in the Champions League after the appeal, UEFA may refuse to accept the team into the tournament. According to reports, European football officials will hold an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to decide which Italian clubs will represent the country in European tournaments.
As UEFA's head of public relations William Gallard recently noted, the association has the authority to prevent a club from participating in their competitions: "Which teams will play in European tournaments will be decided by the UEFA committee. In the past, the committee has made exceptions and banned clubs from competing in European tournaments. There was a case with 'Marseille' in 1993.
At that time, the Champions League winner 'Marseille' lost the right to defend their title because the club was relegated to a lower French league due to illegal financial operations and match-fixing. The fate of 'Milan', which failed to qualify for the tournament, is now contested by 'Palermo', and a decision must be made by Friday, when the draw for the third qualifying round will take place."
