Napoli back in second place after winning appeal

Rome, Jan 18 (IANS): Napoli are back in second place in Serie A standings after having had their two-point penalty annulled on appeal in the match-fixing scandal.

The club had been docked two points and fined 70,000 Euros by the Disciplinary Commission and their third choice goalkeeper Matteo Gianello was banned for three years and three months, reports Xinhua.

Gianello claimed that he had offered a potential fix to Cannavaro and Grava for the Sampdoria-Napoli match in May 2010, but that the pair turned him down point-blank.

The two team-mates were banned for six months for failing to report the attempted fix to authorities, but insisted they had never even been approached.

Napoli took their appeal to the Federal Court and Thursday the two-point penalty was wiped out, while Cannavaro and Grava have been exonerated. Gianello’s ban was reduced to 21 months.

This puts Napoli back in second place, just three points adrift of leaders Juventus and on a par with Lazio.