Paratici resigns as Tottenham director of football after unsuccessful ban appeal

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Fabio Paratici has left Tottenham (Image: Offside via Getty Images)
Fabio Paratici has left Tottenham (Image: Offside via Getty Images)

Tottenham's managing director of football Fabio Paratici has resigned.

The decision was made after Paratici was unsuccessful with his appeal against an Italian Football Federation ban on certain football-related activities. Paratici was handed a 30-month suspension from Italian football in January after his former club Juventus were found guilty of false accounting, with that ban extended worldwide by FIFA last month.

Paratici stepped back from his role in north London after FIFA's decision but has only just formally quit. Tottenham appointed Scott Munn, a former City Football Group employee, as chief football officer earlier this month in anticipation of the Italian's exit.

Paratici, who initially appealed to the Italian Football Federation, is still waiting to find out the result of his appeal to FIFA against the extension of his ban. He and the other 11 former Juventus executives involved in the financial mismanagement saga deny any wrongdoing. The Italian club also deny the allegations.

Tottenham chair Daniel Levy said: "This has been a stressful time for Fabio and his family. We wanted to ensure that we allowed for due process to be followed. Fabio is a man who lives and breathes football - we wish him well.

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"As outlined in our year end results, we started several months ago to restructure our football operations and last week announced the appointment of Scott Munn as Chief Football Officer to head up all the departments. We shall continue to strengthen our football functions over the coming months."

Paratici resigns as Tottenham director of football after unsuccessful ban appealTottenham chair Daniel Levy confirmed Paratici's exit on Friday (PA)

What do you make of Fabio Paratici's exit? Let us know in the comments below!

Juventus were handed a 15-point deduction by the Italian Football Federation, but that punishment has now been suspended. That means Massimiliano Allegri's side have jumped up to third in the Serie A table - six points ahead of AC Milan in fifth.

Some of Paratici's former colleagues, such as Pavel Nedved, were successful with their appeals against the charges. Yet the same can't be said for Paratici.

It's been a tough season for Tottenham. Antonio Conte left by mutual consent last month - launching into an extraordinary 10-minute rant during his final press conference as manager - leaving his assistant Cristian Stellini in charge for the rest of the season.

Performances on the pitch have not improved since Conte's departure. Tottenham were fortunate to beat Brighton 2-1 in London earlier this month, but they had no such luck in their 3-2 home defeat to relegation candidates Bournemouth last time out.

Spurs are fifth in the table - three points behind Newcastle in fourth having played a game more - and are expected to miss out on Champions League football next season.

Tottenham, who have not won silverware since 2008, also failed to challenge in cup competitions this season. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Sheffield United, with Serie A's AC Milan dumping them out of the Champions League.

Tom Blow

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