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Cesare Zaccone, a lawyer for the multiple Italian champions Torino, who were relegated to the second-tier Serie B league this season due to a corruption scandal, admitted as the final verdict approached that he hoped the club would avoid relegation to an even lower level - Serie C.
On Thursday, the Turin board of "Old Lady" held a meeting to discuss the team's relegation to Serie A and financial problems.
The meeting was attended by president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, as well as general director Jean-Claude Blanc, C. Zaccone, and small shareholders of the club who attacked the board for the positions taken during the corruption scandal. According to the shareholders, it was an unjust decision to admit guilt and request relegation to Serie B, but C. Zaccone had a different opinion.
After the appeal changing the initial verdict to relegation to Serie B with a 30-point deficit, Juventus still remained with a 17-point deficit. However, C. Zaccone believed that in this situation, it was the best they could do: "We deserved Serie C, so relegation to Serie B was a good result - we did it to save the club."
In the near future - on Friday after the stock exchange closes or on Monday - the highest sports institution in Italy, the CONI Arbitration Court, will announce the final verdict for four out of the five clubs involved in the scandal: Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina, and Roma's Lazio. They all received positive signals from sports officials agreeing not to appeal to civil courts, and although the Arbitration Court insists that nothing has been decided yet, the media speculates about reductions in penalties.
It is believed that Juventus and Fiorentina, who had a 19-point deficit, may enjoy reductions of seven points, Lazio's penalty may decrease from 11 to 6 points, and Milan's penalty of 8 points is likely to decrease by two or three. Meanwhile, the latest penalized club, Reggina, who started the season with a 15-point deficit, should hear the final verdict in November.
