May 14, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 15, 1427

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ROME, May 13: Juventus, who along with AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio are being investigated for suspected match-fixing, could be relegated from Serie A if found guilty.

According to Italy's Sports Justice Code, clubs proven to have direct responsibility for fixing matches will be demoted.

If indirectly responsible for rigging games, Juventus could be stripped of last season's title.

Another consequence could see the Turin giants revoked of this season's title if on Sunday they claim the one point they need from the final match of the season to win it.

Any potential sporting sanctions will be carried out by the Sports Judiciary, which comes under the umbrella of the Italian football federation (FIGC) but is an independent body.

Juventus are currently refusing to talk to the media, but AC Milan and Fiorentina have protested their innocence after they were formally placed under investigation by Naples magistrates on Friday for alleged match-fixing.

“We have done nothing wrong and we will prove it,” said AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani.

Fiorentina owner Diego Della Valle was equally defiant.

“We are not involved in this and we have nothing to hide,” he said. “We hope the magistrates can sort this out quickly.”

Italian sports authorities are normally quick to hand out sanctions, but criminal investigations, such as the Naples one, can be lengthy.

For example, the Juventus doping trial, in which the club were accused and then acquitted of sporting fraud, lasted three years. The investigation which led to the trial lasted four years.

Italian football has a history of match-fixing which spans 26 years.

Only last season, Serie B champions Genoa were denied promotion after fixing their final game of the season.

In 1986, points were deducted from Udinese, Lazio, Foggia, Palermo, Triestina and Cagliari for their involvement in match-fixing.

In 2000, a fixed match between Atalanta and Pistoiese resulted in the arrests of several players, while two years ago Modena were deducted points for the same offence.

And in 1980, AC Milan president Felice Colombo and players from Lazio, Avellino, Perugia, Genoa and Lecce were arrested for rigging matches.

The scandal saw AC Milan and Lazio both relegated from Serie A.

Former Italian international Paolo Rossi, who at the time played for Perugia, was banned from playing for two years for his part in the furore.

He made his comeback just in time for the 1982 World Cup in Spain where he finished the tournament as top scorer as Italy carried off the title.—AFP