Fifa places worldwide ban on Spurs' Paratici

Published on: 29 March 2023

Fabio Paratici spent 11 years at Juventus before being appointed as Tottenham managing director in June 2021

Tottenham managing director Fabio Paratici may have to step away from his current role after Fifa extended an initial ban in Italy worldwide.

Paratici was given a 30-month ban in January after his former club Juventus were found guilty of false accounting.

The 50-year-old served as sporting director and managing director at Juventus before joining Tottenham in June 2021.

Paratici and Juventus have both appealed the decision.

Fifa's initial ban only applied to Italian football, meaning Paratici was able to continue working at Tottenham.

However, the extended ban comes as Tottenham search for a new manager following the departure of Antonio Conte.

Conte left Spurs on Sunday with the club fourth in the Premier League, but having been knocked out of the Champions League and FA Cup in recent weeks.

Paratici told the club website on Tuesday that he and the club were "focused" on moving forward and finding a replacement.

"FIFA can confirm that following a request by the Italian FA (FIGC), the Chairperson of FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanctions imposed by FIGC on several football officials to have worldwide effect," a statement from the world's governing body read.

The entire board of the Serie A club, including president Andrea Agnelli and vice-president Pavel Nedved, resigned in November as a police investigation into the club's transfer activity continued.

Juventus were subsequently docked 15 points by the FIGC in January. The Serie A giants were accused of fixing their balance sheets by artificial gains from club transfers.

Analysis

BBC Sport's Simon Stone

The absence of Fabio Paritici's name from the statement confirming Antonio Conte's exit that Tottenham released on Sunday night was taken by some as evidence the Italian's tenure was in the balance too.

That seemed to be answered by Paritici's statement to Tottenham club media yesterday.

Yet the rallying cry came with an asterisk because chairman Daniel Levy must have known this development was inevitable from the moment Paritici was given his 30-month ban by the Italian FA in January.

Paritici says he has done nothing wrong and Juventus continue to protest their innocence, but this must be decided through an appeal and the resolution will not be swift.

It puts more attention on Levy, the top flight's longest-serving chairperson, who has a massive call to make over Conte's replacement, as well as the future of Harry Kane and the need to steady Spurs' ship to give them a chance of making the top four.

This day was expected, but it merely adds to the sense of uncertainty at what should be one of the most stable Premier League clubs.

    Latest Tottenham news, analysis and fan viewsGet Spurs news notificationsListen to the latest The Far Post podcast
    Our coverage of Tottenham Hotspur is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a momentEverything Spurs - go straight to all the best content

Source: bbc.com

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more