Giraudo’s sentence reduced in Calciopoli case

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Former Juventus executive Antonio Giraudo has had his 2006 match-fixing scandal sentence reduced from 36 to 20 months on appeal.

Also, the Naples court cleared former referees’ association president, Tullio Lanese, and former referees Tiziano Piero and Paolo Dondarini.

In December 2009, the four defendants in the Calciopoli case were sentenced on charges of criminal association aimed at committing sports fraud.

At the heart of Calciopoli were allegations that Giraudo and fellow Juventus executive Luciano Moggi created a network of contacts with Italian soccer federation officials to influence refereeing assignments and arrange for key players in other teams to be booked ahead of matches with Juventus.

Moggi’s appeal of his five-year, four-month sentence is expected to begin in March.

Moggi and Giraudo are banned from soccer for life.