Tottenham's managing director of football Fabio Paratici is facing the prospect of being forced out of his role after a 30-month ban handed down by Italian football authorities was imposed worldwide.
Paratici was hit with the sanction in January for his part in former club Juventus's alleged financial irregularities and accounting scandal, which also saw the Serie A side docked 15 points.
Paratici's ban, and those dished out to numerous other former Juve executives, initially applied only to Italian football and it had been thought that Fifa would wait for the outcome of an appeal before intervening, but the sport's global governing body announced on Wednesday morning that the punishments would be expanded throughout the game.
A statement to the Guardian newspaper read: "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 repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and have appealed their punishments to Italy's highest sports court, which sits within the Italian Olympic Committee and is known as CONI. A hearing is set for April 19 and could yet see the 50-year-old cleared, but should the appeal be dismissed it now seems probable that he would have to step back from at least some aspects of his role at Spurs. At this stage, however, it is not clear exactly how far the ban would restrict Paratici's involvement.
Should he be effectively forced out of Tottenham, it would be a major embarrassment to the Premier League club, who appointed Paratici in the post in 2021 and allowed him to play a major role in choosing Antonio Conte as Nuno Espirito Santo's successor, the pair having worked together previously in Turin.
There had been suspicion that Paratici was being eased aside when he was not mentioned in the club's statement announcing Conte's departure on Sunday night. Remarkably, though, an interview with the Italian explaining Conte's exit was published on club channels last night, only hours before Fifa's decision became public.
Paratici had also been expected to play a leading part in the search for a new manager, with Conte's former assistant Cristian Stellini placed in charge for the final ten games of the Premier League season, but with his future now up in the air it is unclear how the club will move forward.
