AC Milan appeals sanctions

Milan:

AC Milan has appealed its punishment in Italy's match-fixing scandal to the Italian Olympic Committee's arbitration court. "We are aiming to get as much as possible taken off," AC Milan lawyer Leandro Cantamessa said on Friday on the club's Web site. In a ruling by a sports appeals tribunal last month, AC Milan was docked eight points and forced to play in the third qualifying round of the Champions League - European club soccer's premier tournament. Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have already appealed their sanctions to CONI, the Italian Olympic body. Juventus was stripped of its last two Serie A titles and demoted to Serie B with a 17-point penalty by last month's sports appeals tribunal. Lazio and Fiorentina were banned from European club competition, and docked 11 and 19 points respectively in this season's Serie A championship. Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have also threatened to go to Italy's civil courts if their appeals are unsuccessful. Cantamessa said on Friday that AC Milan would not appeal beyond CONI. CONI's board of conciliation and arbitration is the highest body in Italian sports justice and has the power to uphold or rescind sanctions in sports disputes. Recourse to the board is mandatory before any appeals to the civil courts. A ruling is expected before the scheduled start of the Serie A and B leagues on Sept. 9-10. Prosecutors in Naples, Rome, Parma and Turin are also conducting separate criminal probes into sports fraud, illegal betting and false bookkeeping - but any indictments could take months. (AP)

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