Juve chief expects reduction
Tuesday 1 August, 2006
Juventus President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli is hopeful that the appeal to the CONI Court of Conciliation will overturn the July 25 Calciopoli verdicts.
The Bianconeri have insisted that their demotion to Serie B with a 17-point deduction was harsh and are still aiming to start the 2006-07 campaign in Serie A.
“There is too much difference between the punishment for Juve and the other teams,” said the Bianconeri President after Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina kept their top-flight status.
“We don’t deserve this, Juve may be responsible for some violations, but there was no sporting fraud and this was also confirmed by the Federal Court itself,” added Cobolli Gigli.
“As a fan, I would very much like Juve to be reinstated to Serie A, maybe with a significant point deduction, but I realise that Serie B with no additional penalty would be acceptable.
“If that were the case, I believe Juventus would not consider any further appeal to the civil courts.
“We are glad we did not end up in Serie C as that would have been terrible and may have meant the liquidation of the club.”
When questioned on the 2005-06 Scudetto assigned to Inter, the Juventus official replied: ”It doesn’t really matter who it was assigned to, titles must be won on the pitch.
“I also find unfair that Milan were allowed to take part in the Champions League preliminaries, this shows that the verdicts were not balanced.”
Turning to on field matters in Turin, Cobolli Gigli underlined that he’s been impressed with the work of new boss Didier Deschamps.
“I had hoped that Mister [Fabio] Capello may want to stay and face the challenge with us, but we are now happy with the new Coach,” he added.
”Deschamps is very good at managing the team and we are very glad of our choice, he deserves all our trust.”
As for Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s desire to leave Turin, the chief confirmed that the player is a valuable asset to the club.
“He is very young and can still improve a lot,” said Cobolli Gigli. “Ibrahimovic must understand that a year in Serie B can be a stimulating experience.”
The Bianconeri official also confirmed that goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, linked with Milan, will not leave the outfit.
“I have not spoken to the player directly, but he gave us his word and said he wants to stay and we are happy about this,” he concluded.
channel4.com
..................................................................................
well thats something, hopefully it will be reduced further