LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur’s managing director of football Fabio Paratici has been given a worldwide ban by Fifa that could end his time with the north London club.
The 50-year-old was handed a 30-month ban from Italian football in January after his former club Juventus were found guilty of false accounting. The Italian was sporting director and managing director at the Turin giants before joining Tottenham in June 2021.
His initial ban applied to only his homeland, meaning he was free to continue working at Spurs, where he was involved in last Sunday’s departure of manager Antonio Conte and the start of the search for a new boss.
But a statement issued by Fifa on Wednesday threatened to cut short his spell at Tottenham, with the global governing body saying: “Fifa can confirm that following a request by the Italian FA (FIGC), the chairperson of Fifa disciplinary committee has decided to extend the sanctions imposed by FIGC on several football officials to have worldwide effect.”
Both Paratici and Juventus have appealed against the initial decision, and it was business as usual on Tuesday as Tottenham published a lengthy interview with Paratici in which he insisted Conte’s exit was “the right decision for everyone”.
Paratici said the club were “focused” on backing interim head coach Cristian Stellini as they try to qualify for the Champions League by securing a top-four finish in the English Premier League.
Following Wednesday’s decision, Tottenham have now said they are seeking further clarification from Fifa as they believe Paratici’s ban would not kick in until his appeal has been heard.
“We are urgently seeking further clarification from Fifa as to the details of the extension and its variance from the FIGC sanction,” Spurs said.
“We should like to make clear that when Fabio conducted the interview on club channels yesterday neither he nor the club had any indication of this decision being made by Fifa, based on the fact the FIGC sanction was taken on Jan 20, 2023, and remains subject to an appeal on April 19, 2023.”
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST), responding to the extension of Paratici’s ban, on Wednesday called for Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to reassure fans about the future of the club.
“This news adds further to the extremely concerning situation at the club,” the THST said.
“No manager, no director of football and uncertainty around our star player (Harry Kane) 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.” AFP
