Tottenham is seeking clarification from FIFA after the worldwide extension of managing director Fabio Paratici’s ban in Italy. Paratici was suspended in his home country after his former employer, Juventus, was found guilty of false accounting. Paratici is appealing his ban from holding office in football, but he will have to step down from his role at Tottenham due to FIFA’s extension of the ban, which was initially 30 months and applicable only to Italian football. FIFA announced they had extended Paratici’s ban ‘to have worldwide effect’ in a statement released earlier on Wednesday.
A Tottenham statement read: “FIFA has late this afternoon responded to us in writing notifying us that a decision has been made by the FIFA disciplinary committee to extend the FIGC sanction worldwide. This committee deliberation has been taken with no advance notice to any of the parties involved. We are urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA as to the details of the extension and its variance from the FIGC sanction.”
Paratici joined Spurs in June 2021 and would have been involved in the search for a new manager following Antonio Conte’s departure last week. Juventus have denied wrongdoing, and they and Paratici have appealed against the sanctions. On Tuesday, Tottenham published a lengthy interview with Paratici in which he said Conte’s departure was ‘the right decision for everyone’ and the club was ‘focused’ on supporting interim head coach Cristian Stellini as they try to secure a top-four finish.
Fan group the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust called for clarity and reassurance from the club. Responding to the Paratici ban, it tweeted: “This news adds further to the extremely concerning situation at the club. No manager, no director of football and uncertainty around our star player and our end of season finish. Fans deserve to hear a clear statement of strategy from THFC so they can be reassured by the board on their plan to bring success and stability to the club.”
Paratici was responsible for many of the club’s high-profile transfers, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Giorgio Chiellini, Paulo Dybala, and Arturo Vidal. Under his tenure, Juventus won an unprecedented nine Serie A titles in a row under Conte and then Massimiliano Allegri. However, that success, or anywhere close, has yet to be replicated at Tottenham, and FIFA’s latest ruling throws his occupation at the north London outfit into doubt.