Juventus president Andrea Agnelli gets one-year ban for ticket touting

Rome: An Italian football federation panel on Monday handed Juventus President Andrea Agnelli a one-year ban and a 20,000 euro fine for illegal ticket touting or scalping, while the Serie A club received a 300,000 euro fine.

Federation prosecutor Giuseppe Pecoraro had requested a two-and-a half-year ban and a 50,000 euro fine for Agnelli. Pecoraro also requested that Juventus be ordered to play two home matches behind closed doors and another game with the southern end of the stadium where 'ultra' fans sit shut, and to pay a 300,000 euro fine.

Former Juventus marketing director Francesco Calvo and the club's ticketing director Stefano Merulla both received a one-year- ban and a 20,000 euro fine, while security director Alessandro D'Angelo was banned for 15 months and got a 20,000 fine.

The Calabrian mafia or 'Ndrangheta was involved in scalping among Juventus ultra fans for at least 15 years under a system that ensured order in the stadium in exchange for open access to tickets, anti-mafia prosecutors allege.

Juventus has denied wrongdoing in the case.

Agnelli has admitted meeting an ultra fun linked to the 'Ndrangheta, Rocco Dominello, who has since been jailed for eight years for touting. But he claims he only met Dominello with large groups of other fans during large, celebratory occasions, and Juventus never intended to act illegally.

Agnelli, 41, has led Juventus, the club his aristocratic family has owned for nearly a century, since 2010. He is also a member of UEFA's executive committee.