24 January 2023 , 12:01
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Tottenham are facing the possibility of losing their manager and transfer chief in the coming months, with Italian prosecutors pushing to have Fabio Paratici banned from the game.
Paratici has been implicated in the scandal currently tearing Juventus apart. The Italian giants were deducted 15 points last week amid an ongoing investigation into the club’s past transfer dealings.
Juve have been accused of misrepresenting their losses between 2018 and 2020. The FIGC began an investigation in 2021 into 62 transfers, looking at whether their valuations had been artificially inflated in order to evade financial fair play rules. Juventus have denied any wrongdoing and confirmed they will appeal against the decision, but the allegations could have a profound impact on Tottenham.
Paratici, who joined Spurs in June 2021 after working at Juve for 11 years, has been banned from working in football in Italy for 30 months by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). However, the FIGC are also planning to ask for that suspension to be extended across Europe, according to The Times.
That would come as a hammer blow to Spurs, who are also bracing themselves for the departure of Antonio Conte in the summer. Conte’s current contract expires on June 30 and he is currently refusing to consider signing a new one amid dissatisfaction with the club and a desire to move back to Italy to be closer to his family.
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After Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Fulham on Monday night, Conte insisted he is “happy” and “proud” to be Spurs boss. But the uncertainty hanging over his position and Paratici’s is adding to the instability at Spurs currently.
Fabio Paratici has been banned along with Andrea Agnelli and Pavel Nedved (Daniele Badolato/Juventus FC via Getty Images)Paratici will have to wait until March to find out what his future holds. The FIGC have to wait for the outcome of Juventus’ appeal to the Italian Olympic committee before they can ask UEFA to extend Paratici’s ban across Europe, and FIFA to consider a worldwide punishment.
The 50-year-old is the man in charge of Tottenham’s transfer policy during the January window, which now only has seven days remaining. Paratici was the man who helped secure Conte as manager after Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked – and who brought Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur to Spurs from Juve last year.
Tottenham are currently trying to sign Nicolo Zaniolo from Roma. The winger is under contract with the Italian side until June 2024 and is valued at £35million.
The scandal at Juventus has been unfolding gradually. In November, the entire Juventus board of directors resigned, with president Andrea Agnelli, vice-president Pavel Nedved and managing director Maurizio Arrivabene all stepping down. Agnelli and Arrivabene have now been slapped with two-year bans by the FIGC, while current sporting director Federico Cherubini has been given a 16-month ban and Nedved an eight-month suspension.