Former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi has had his prison sentence written off following his appeal against his role in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal.
Moggi had been sentenced to two years and four months in jail for sporting fraud and conspiracy, but took his appeals to the highest Italian court – the Court of Cassation.
Early on Tuesday morning, Moggi was acquitted on two charges of sporting fraud, while a charge of conspiracy expired due to the statute of limitations.
The Calciopoli scandal rocked Italian football in the summer of 2006 and led to Juventus being stripped of two Scudetti and relegated to Serie B.
Moggi was originally implicated as the mastermind of the scandal, with Juventus said to have enjoyed an exclusive relationship with referee designators.
The former director was also accused of bullying the transfer market through the GEA player agency, using a secret International SIM card system to communicate with referees and officials privately, as well as other offences such as locking a referee in a dressing room and offering gifts to officials. Moggi was cleared of all these offences.
The 77-year-old reacted to the verdict: "It took nine years to work out that the [2004-05 and 2005-06] seasons were handled fairly, the referee designations were fair and that there was no communication.
"This trial was conducted in an odd way, we joked around for nine years. This has been an unpleasant thing and it has all ended up in nothing."
Former Juventus CEO Antonio Giraudo, who was accused of fraud, also saw his prison sentence of one year and eight months written off due to the statute of limitations.
Fiorentina owners Andrea and Diego Della Valle and Lazio president Claudio Lotito saw appeals against sentences already ruled to have passed the statute of limitations rejected.
Ex-referees Paolo Bertini and Antonio Dattilo were acquitted, but another former Serie A official Massimo De Santis saw his appeal against a 10-month suspended sentence rejected.
Juventus are currently seeking €443 million in damages from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) over lost revenue and the damage to their reputation as a result of Calciopoli.
Moggi had been sentenced to two years and four months in jail for sporting fraud and conspiracy, but took his appeals to the highest Italian court – the Court of Cassation.
Early on Tuesday morning, Moggi was acquitted on two charges of sporting fraud, while a charge of conspiracy expired due to the statute of limitations.
The Calciopoli scandal rocked Italian football in the summer of 2006 and led to Juventus being stripped of two Scudetti and relegated to Serie B.
Moggi was originally implicated as the mastermind of the scandal, with Juventus said to have enjoyed an exclusive relationship with referee designators.
The former director was also accused of bullying the transfer market through the GEA player agency, using a secret International SIM card system to communicate with referees and officials privately, as well as other offences such as locking a referee in a dressing room and offering gifts to officials. Moggi was cleared of all these offences.
The 77-year-old reacted to the verdict: "It took nine years to work out that the [2004-05 and 2005-06] seasons were handled fairly, the referee designations were fair and that there was no communication.
"This trial was conducted in an odd way, we joked around for nine years. This has been an unpleasant thing and it has all ended up in nothing."
Former Juventus CEO Antonio Giraudo, who was accused of fraud, also saw his prison sentence of one year and eight months written off due to the statute of limitations.
Fiorentina owners Andrea and Diego Della Valle and Lazio president Claudio Lotito saw appeals against sentences already ruled to have passed the statute of limitations rejected.
Ex-referees Paolo Bertini and Antonio Dattilo were acquitted, but another former Serie A official Massimo De Santis saw his appeal against a 10-month suspended sentence rejected.
Juventus are currently seeking €443 million in damages from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) over lost revenue and the damage to their reputation as a result of Calciopoli.