Naples, Italy, Nov 9: Former Juventus executive Luciano Moggi was sentenced to five years and four months in prison by a Naples court Tuesday for his role in the 2006 Italian match-fixing scandal.
Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of five years and eight months for Moggi on charges of criminal association aimed at committing sports fraud.
“I don't want to make any comment, I'm not talking,” Moggi said as he exited the courtroom, according to the ANSA news agency.
One of Moggi's lawyers, Maurilio Prioreschi, said they were not expecting such a harsh sentence.
“We will definitely appeal and we think with the appeal we can restore what we believe is the truth,” Prioreschi told Italy's Sky TV.
Another former Juventus executive, Antonio Giraudo, had already received a three-year sentence and appealed.
The scandal—the biggest corruption case in the history of Italian football—left Juventus stripped of the 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles and relegated to Serie B by a sports court.
Three other top clubs—AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina—were also penalized, as were Reggina and Arezzo.
In other sentences handed out by the Naples court, former referee selector Paolo Bergamo was given three years and eight months and colleague Pierluigi Pairetto was handed 16 months.
Former Italian football federation vice president Innocenzo Mazzini was sentenced to 26 months and former referee Massimo De Santis was given 23 months.
Fiorentina owners Andrea and Diego Della Valle and Lazio president Claudio Lotito received 15-month sentences for lesser charges, and former AC Milan executive Leonardo Meani was given a one-year sentence.
In all, 16 people were found guilty and eight were cleared.
Moggi and the others were not expected to be ordered to prison before their appeals process runs out.
Moggi and Giraudo were banned from football for life by a sports court earlier this year for influencing the outcome of matches.
At the heart of the scandal were allegations that Moggi and Giraudo created a network of contacts with federation officials to influence refereeing assignments and arrange for key players in other teams to be booked ahead of matches with Juventus.
The 2006 title was reassigned to Inter Milan and Juventus is still appealing to have it returned or for it to be unassigned like the 2005 title, arguing that more recently released phone taps show Inter also attempted to pressure referees.
While the reasons behind the court's decisions won't be released for three months, Juventus issued a statement on its website saying that the sentences demonstrate the club's “total extraneousness” in the case, adding that it will continue its “legitimate legal battles to restore fair treatment.”
The Naples trial opened in January 2009, and a steady stream of football personalities were called in for questioning during the past three years—from former AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti to Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero to former Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini, as well as retired referee Pierluigi Collina and Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini, among others.
