Turin-based soccer club Juventus and two other teams implicated in a match-fixing scandal had their points penalties reduced by an Italian sports tribunal on Friday.
Juventus — who were relegated to the Italian second division Serie B in the summer — had their penalty reduced from -17 points to -9 by the Arbitration Court of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).
Juventus stars Alessandro Del Piero, right, and David Trezuguet could be playing in Serie A next season.
(New Press/Getty Images)
CONI's Arbitration Court is the highest level of the sports justice system in Italy.
The Rome-based club Lazio went from -11 to -3 and Fiorentina's penalty was reduced by four points from -19 to -15.
AC Milan's -8 penalty was not reduced by the arbitration tribunal.
Reggina, another team embroiled in the scandal, were docked 15 points and will have their appeal heard in November.
Juventus, 27-time Italian league champion and the team with the largest fan base in Italy, was booted from Serie A, the Italian first division, in July for trying to influence the appointment of league referees for their games.
Juventus was also stripped of its 2005 and 2006 league titles as part of its original punishment.
Juventus's presence in Serie B, its first in club history, has resulted in a 20.3 per cent increase in attendances in the second division this season.
After seven games of the Serie B schedule Juventus have won six matches and tied one.
Friday's ruling means Juventus moves up to 12th place in the standings where they now have 10 points, just five points adrift of second-place Napoli. The top two teams at the end of the campaign win automatic promotion back into Serie A for next season.
Juventus said in a statement that Friday's decision "recognizes, at least in part, the enormous effort and the spirit of sacrifice demonstrated by the club in order to renew our internal structure and promote the values of sport to the benefit of all Italian [soccer]."
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