Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina Demoted

New Juventus soccer club coach Didier Deschamps, wearing a black jacket and white T-shirt, is followed by journalists on his way to visit Juventus soccer club former player Gianluca Pessotto, in Turin's Molinette Hospital, northern Italy, Friday July 14, 2006. Deschamps signed a two-year contract on Monday to coach Juventus, which faces demotion and being stripped of its last two Serie A titles in the Italian match-fixing scandal. The former Juventus midfielder, who captained France to the 1998 World Cup title, replaces Fabio Capello after his resignation last week to coach Real Madrid. In June, Juventus officials met with Deschamps, who said he was interested in coaching the Turin club even if it is demoted. (AP Photo/Massimo Pinca) (Massimo Pinca - AP)

ROME -- Juventus was demoted to the second division for match-fixing by a sports tribunal Friday and stripped it of its last two Serie A titles, one of several sanctions aimed at cleaning up the scandal-marred game as the nation celebrates its fourth World Cup title.

Lazio and Fiorentina also were demoted to Serie B, while AC Milan was spared demotion but given a 15-point penalty and won't play in any European competition this season.

The toughest penalties meted out to individuals were against former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi and former Juventus chief executive Antonio Giraudo, who received the maximum five-year ban for match-fixing and disloyalty, with a recommendation to the Italian soccer federation (FIGC) to make it a lifetime ban.

The pair, who resigned in May along with the club's entire board, were accused of creating a network of contacts with FIGC officials to influence refereeing assignments and get players yellow-carded -- allegations that are at the heart of the scandal.

Of the 26 officials or referees accused in the scandal, 19 received punishment ranging from the maximum five-year ban to a warning; five were acquitted; and two were banned for life without prosecution because they resigned before being charged.

The sentences can be appealed within five days to a higher sports court.

The verdicts came five days after Italy won its fourth World Cup title by defeating France in the final in Berlin.

FIGC chief Guido Rossi, who took over in the wake of the scandal, sought a speedy trial to clean up the game and restore soccer's image as quickly as possible. The trial was completed in six days, meeting an end of July deadline, the latest date to decide which teams will participate in the European Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

Rossi has the power to grant amnesty to teams and officials involved, but has ruled out the possibility that the World Cup victory would inspire leniency, despite political pressure.

Thirteen of the 23 members of the Italian squad that won the World Cup play for the four teams penalized. There was speculation about whether they would transfer because the clubs could no longer afford them.

"I have some hopes that some of our most important players will remain," said Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, adding that Real Madrid was interested in several players, according to the news agency ANSA.

"It's obvious that part of our squad will not remain in Serie B. We can't deny them the chance to play in a more competitive league. We have capital, and we can't just give it away."

Milan released a statement saying it expected the verdict against it would be overturned, calling it "a grave injustice."

Juventus also was penalized 30 points, making its return to Serie A even more difficult and risking valuable sponsorship and broadcast rights tied to its competing in the first division. Fiorentina was penalized 12 points and Lazio seven.

Other prominent officials convicted in the trial include Franco Carraro -- the former head of the Italian soccer league who resigned in May amid the scandal. He was banned for 4 1/2 years. He also is a member of the International Olympic Committee. Fiorentina owner Diego Della Valle and Lazio president Claudio Lotito were banned for 4 years and 3 1/2 years, respectively.

The sentence for Juventus marks the first demotion since its founding in 1897. The Turin-based powerhouse has won 29 league titles -- including the 2005 and 2006 titles stripped by Friday's verdict -- two European Champions League titles, four Italian Supercups, two European Supercups and two Toyota or Intercontinental Cups.

Lazio returns to the Serie B for the first time since the 1987-88 season, while in 2002, Fiorentina was declared bankrupt and forced to play in the fourth division, Serie C2. It won promotion into Serie B by 2003 and returned to the top division the following year.

Prosecutors in Naples, Rome, Parma and Turin are conducting separate criminal probes into sports fraud, illegal betting and false bookkeeping -- but any indictments could take months.