Fabio Paratici has resigned as the managing director of football at Tottenham after losing an appeal in Italy against his 30-month ban from the game, deepening the sense of crisis at the club.
Paratici’s punishment for his role in alleged false accounting at his previous club, Juventus, was extended worldwide by Fifa on 29 March – a move against which Paratici began an appeal on 11 April.
Two days after the Fifa decision, Spurs confirmed that Paratici would step away from his duties at the club pending an appeal against his sentence in Italy; that was heard by the guarantee board at the Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) on Wednesday – the country’s highest court in sporting terms, which would also rule on Juventus’s 15-point deduction.
There was the sense that the Coni hearing would hold the key to Paratici’s Spurs future, even though he had been able to work after being given the original ban by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on 20 January. The club had said on 31 March that the Coni decision would be “considered by additional stakeholders, including the club. Given Fifa’s unexpected ruling the sanctions may now have multi-jurisdictional effect, although they are still related to the FIGC appeal.”
It was announced on Thursday that although Juventus had been successful in having their 15-point penalty suspended pending a new trial, Paratici’s appeal was rejected, leading him to resign from Spurs on Friday morning. He and Juventus have denied any wrongdoing.
Spurs said in a statement that there continued to be a “dispute as to the scope and extent” of Paratici’s ban. But the bottom line was that the situation made it impossible for him to fulfil his duties.
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Paratici had been entitled to ask Fifa to suspend his worldwide punishment when he made his appeal to it – pending the resolution of that appeal. It is understood that he did not do so at the time of the application.
Fifa has not advised on a timeframe for Paratici’s appeal and it should be noted that the governing body’s appeals committee almost never overturns an internal decision – except where there are procedural errors. Paratici has recourse to the court of arbitration for sport for a final appeal. If he goes down this route, it could take some time before there is a verdict.
Paratici also faces the threat of a criminal investigation in Italy. The preliminary hearing of this has been scheduled for 10 May, having been postponed on 27 March.
Paratici had been tasked with driving Spurs’ pursuit of a new permanent manager in the wake of Antonio Conte’s sacking on 26 March, even though it was always expected that the chairman, Daniel Levy, would have the final say.
Levy will now take charge of the process, relying on his inner circle of trusted advisors. There is also the Harry Kane situation to resolve. The star striker is out of contract at the end of next season and has been worryingly silent about his intentions.
Conte’s assistant, Cristian Stellini, is in caretaker charge of the team until the end of the season. He oversaw last Saturday’s 3-2 home defeat by Bournemouth, a result that dented the club’s hopes of a top-four finish. Previously in the role, Stellini had drawn at Everton and beaten Brighton at home.
Levy is expected to begin the search for a new sporting director. He had an interest in Ramón Planes, who worked in the post at Spurs during the 2014-15 season, and has recently left Getafe. Planes, though, is expected to join Real Betis.
Levy issued a statement on Friday in which he referenced a “restructure” of the football operations that started several months ago. He said: “Last week we announced the appointment of Scott Munn as chief football officer to head up all the departments. We shall continue to strengthen our football functions over the coming months.”
On Paratici, Levy said: “This has been a stressful time for Fabio and his family. We wanted to ensure that we allowed for due process to be followed. Fabio is a man who lives and breathes football – we wish him well.”
