Juventus may ask for Serie A titles to be reinstated

Del Piero claimed recently that he still considers Juventus the champions in 2005 and 2006 (GETTY IMAGES)

Juventus will consider asking for both Serie A titles which were stripped in a match-fixing scandal to be reinstated if two pending verdicts go their way, president Andrea Agnelli said today.

The Turin club lost the 2005 and 2006 scudettos, as well as being demoted, after being found guilty by a sporting tribunal four years ago of procuring favourable referees. The latter title was handed to Inter Milan.

Juve say new evidence produced in a Naples criminal trial linked to the scandal shows Inter were also involved in the affair and have asked the Italian soccer federation to take away the 2006 title from the European champions, who deny wrongdoing.

"We have requested the 2006 scudetto to be revoked (from Inter) and we have had sufficient guarantees from the federation that we will shortly have an answer, which we await with confidence," Agnelli told Juve's annual general meeting.

"We also have the case in the Naples court. If the correctness of the club's actions in the relevant years is ascertained, we will be able to consider action aimed at reassigning the titles."

Agnelli also hailed progress on Juve's new stadium, which is on course to be ready for the start of next season but is still without a sponsor, and welcomed former midfielder Pavel Nedved onto the Serie A club's board.

Juve, who have launched an appeal against winger Milos Krasic's two-match ban for diving, are spending big to try to rediscover their former glory but Agnelli told shareholders the club backed UEFA's financial fairplay scheme.