Tottenham official Fabio Paratici to serve worldwide ban

MANCHESTER, England: Tottenham managing director of football Fabio Paratici will serve a worldwide ban for his part in a false accounting scandal involving Juventus, FIFA said Wednesday.

Italy’s most famous soccer team was hit with a 15-point penalty in January and bans were handed out to a number of its officials, including former president Andrea Agnelli and former CEO Maurizio Arrivabene.

Paratici, who had already left his role as sporting director and taken up a new position at Tottenham, was handed the longest ban of 2½ years by the Italian soccer federation. That has now been extended worldwide.

“FIFA can confirm that following a request by the Italian FA (FIGC), the Chairperson of FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanctions imposed by FIGC on several football officials to have worldwide effect,” the governing body said.

The decision will have a significant impact on Tottenham at a time when the Premier League club is conducting a search for a new manager following the departure of Antonio Conte.

Conte, who is Italian, left the London club by “mutual agreement” on Sunday, just over a week after a post-match outburst in which he criticized the players and made withering comments about Tottenham’s ownership.

Paratici would have been expected to play a key role in identifying and hiring Conte’s successor, with former Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann among the names linked with the job.

On Tuesday, Paratici spoke about Conte’s exit and of his determination to see Tottenham have a successful end to the season.

“We will fight to achieve our targets. We are prepared to fight until the end of the season,” Paratici said. “Everyone has to be focused on the last part of the season.”

Prosec