Wednesday, July 26 2006 15:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Rome: Fiorentina and Lazio successfully appealed against relegation into the second division in a football match-fixing scheme, with an appeals sports court allowing them to stay in the Italian top flight.

Juventus were confirmed to the drop into Serie B and to lose their last two Serie A titles in 2005 and 2006. But they saw their original points penalty reduced from 30 to 17 points Tuesday.

AC Milan had their points penalty for the past Serie A season reduced from 44 to 30 and from 15 to eight points in the upcoming top flight campaign. They are also allowed to enter the qualifying round for the next European Champions League.

Fiorentina and Lazio, by contrast, are barred from Europe and will have 19 and 11 points deducted in the next Serie A season.

The verdict is final and cannot be appealed.

In the initial July 14 ruling, Juventus were stripped of their 2005 and 2006 league titles and thrown into the Serie B along with Lazio and Fiorentina. Points penalties were also imposed on the three, with Juve docked 30 points, Fiorentina 12 points and Lazio seven.

Milan were allowed to stay in the top flight, but had a 15-point penalty and were not allowed into the next Champions League.

All clubs and several individuals appealed the original ruling, hoping for leniency, which was in part granted.

Former Juventus managers Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo were at the centre of the affair as they are said to have influenced the selection of referees in the 2004/2005 season.

Their five-year ban from football was upheld Tuesday.

The prosecution originally wanted even tougher sanctions than those given on July 14 (Serie C for Juventus and Serie B for the other three plus points deductions for Milan (three), Lazio and Fiorentina (15 each).

There were also calls for an amnesty after Italy won the World Cup July 9 in Berlin.

Other clubs are also under investigation by prosecutors in Naples, Parma, Rome and Turin.

Tuesday's ruling likely puts an end to a players exodus after Juventus (with no hope of avoiding relegation) already saw the departure of several stars led by World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro.