NAPLES, Italy -- Former Juventus executive Luciano Moggi was sentenced to five years, four months in prison by a Naples court Tuesday for his role in the 2006 Italian match-fixing scandal.

Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of five years, eight months for Moggi on charges of criminal association aimed at committing sports fraud. Moggi declined comment.

Another former Juventus executive, Antonio Giraudo, already received a three-year sentence and has appealed.

The biggest corruption case in Italian soccer caused Juventus to be stripped of the 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles and relegated to Serie B by a sports court.

AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina also were penalized, as were Reggina and Arezzo.

Also, former referee selector Paolo Bergamo was sentenced to three years, eight months and colleague Pierluigi Pairetto was handed a 16-month sentence, according to the ANSA news agency.

Former Italian soccer federation vice president Innocenzo Mazzini was sentenced to 26 months and former referee Massimo De Santis was given 23 months.

Fiorentina owners Andrea and Diego Della Valle and Lazio president Claudio Lotito received 15-month sentences for lesser charges, and former AC Milan executive Leonardo Meani was given a one-year sentence.

In all, 16 people were found guilty and eight were cleared.

Moggi and the others were not expected to be ordered to prison before their appeals process runs out.

Moggi and Giraudo were banned from soccer for life by a sports court earlier this year for influencing the outcome of matches.

At the heart of the scandal were allegations that Moggi and Giraudo created a network of contacts with federation officials to influence refereeing assignments and arrange for key players on other teams to be given yellow cards ahead of matches with Juventus.

The 2006 title was awarded to Inter Milan, and Juventus still is appealing to have it restored or lest open, as it was in 2005. Juventus argues newly released phone taps show Inter also attempted to pressure referees.

Moggi and the others deny wrongdoing. One of Moggi's lawyers, Maurilio Prioreschi, told Italy's Sky TV "we will definitely appeal and we think with the appeal we can restore what we believe is the truth."

Juventus said it will continue "legitimate legal battles to restore fair treatment."



Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press