Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have been relegated to Serie B following the outcome of the Italian match-fixing scandal, but Milan will stay in the top flight.
Turin giants Juventus have also been stripped of the last two Serie A titles the team have won, been fined €80,000 (£50,000) and have also been handed a 30-point deduction for next season.
Joining the Old Lady in Serie B are Lazio, who have been docked seven points for next season, and Fiorentina, who have been hit with a 12-point penalty.
Milan have avoided demotion to the second tier of Italian football, although they have been penalised 15 points for next term.
In addition, the Rossoneri will not take part in the coming campaign`s UEFA Champions League after being docked 44 points from last season`s total.
The punishments mean that Italy will need to find three new entrants for Champions League participation due to the sanctions against Fiorentina, Juventus and Milan.
Several officials have also been hit hard following the verdict in the match-fixing scandal which arose after allegations that Juventus tried to arrange the appointment of referees.
Former Juve general manager Luciano Moggi has been banned from the game for five years - the same penalty meted out to Antonio Giraudo.
Ex-Italian Football Federation president Franco Carraro has been suspended for four years and six months - the same length of time which referee Massimo De Sanctis has been banned for.
Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has been banned for 12 months, Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle for four years and Lazio supremo Claudio Lotito for three years.
The scandal has rocked Italian football and has taken the gloss off the national team`s recent World Cup victory, with some having called for leniency.
But Italian Federation Commission judge Cesare Ruperto has come down hard on the clubs involved, with the punishments possibly seeing a mass exodus from those concerned.
Juventus could lose the likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the 30-point penalty making an immediate return to Serie A a tough ask.
Fiorentina will face a fight to hang on to the likes of Luca Toni, while Lazio full back Massimo Oddo is expected to be in demand.
The lack of European football at Milan could also witness Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo, among others, move on to pastures new.
All four clubs are expected to appeal against the verdicts, but as things stand Internazionale and Roma would qualify automatically for next term`s Champions League.
Chievo Verona and Palermo would enter at the preliminary stage, while Livorno, Empoli and Parma would go into the Uefa Cup.
There will also be a reprieve for Messina, Lecce and Treviso, who had initially been relegated last season, although there is a new inquiry relating to the former-named club.
(A.C.C Founder)
Still....things could be worse....you could be an Aston Villa fan! :o 
www.myspace.com/robbo72uk
This item was edited on Friday, 14th July 2006, 22:19
Sssshhhh!
Can you hear that?
It`s the rustle of Abramovithchs cheque book.
Snaps
When we are born we are naked, wet, hungry, and we get smacked on our arse. From there on in, life gets worse
chequebook? more like pocket money! most players will have relegation clauses in their contracts :o 
RE: Italians dealt their punishment
The sad thing about all this is that it is the fans who will suffer. What if some of these teams never recover?
Nick
RE: Italians dealt their punishment
RE: Italians dealt their punishment
Quote:
thats their fault and their problem
Well put. Who cares about it anyway? It means a load of crap Italian teams in Europe, giving all the English / Scottish teams a better chance. Yey!
