Fabio Paratici agrees to ‘step down’ as Tottenham sporting director given his FIFA worldwide ban from the sport – the Italian and Tottenham make a mutual decision pending his appeal.
Fabio Paratici has resigned as general manager at Tottenham Hotspur following FIFA’s decision to extend its worldwide football ban.
The Italian has agreed to take leave, effective immediately, according to a statement from the Premier League club.
The decision follows a mutual agreement with Tottenham, with the decision on the 50-year-old’s appeal still pending.
The announcement came on Friday, as Sportsmail revealed Paratici had returned to England amid growing uncertainty surrounding his future on Thursday.
A club statement reads: ‘This week – 29 March 2023 – the FIFA Disciplinary Committee announced a decision to extend the sanctions of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), relating to Fabio Paratici, worldwide.
Fabio Paratici has resigned from his position as general manager at Tottenham Hotspur
Now without a managing director either, Daniel Levy was already looking for a new manager following the departure of Antonio Conte
This decision was taken prior to the hearing of Fabio Paratici’s appeal against FIFA sanctions on 19 April 2023, the outcome of which would have been considered by additional stakeholders, including the club.
Given FIFA’s unexpected decision, the sanctions may now have a multi-jurisdictional effect, although they are still linked to the Fifa appeal.
“In light of FIFA’s decision, Fabio has agreed with the club that he will take immediate leave pending the outcome of his appeal.”
According to The Athletic, the former general manager met with the players to explain the situation, with Spurs announcing the evening.
It comes at the end of an eventful week in north London, after former manager Antonio Conte left the club on Sunday, following his explosive press conference following their 3-3 draw with Southampton.
Paracchi has seen his 30-month ban in Italy extended worldwide by FIFA from Wednesday.
As a result of his worldwide ban, he now faces a two-and-a-half year period out of the game
Paratici was initially handed a 30-month ban by the Italian federation in January earlier this year, with the 50-year-old sanctioned among several current and former Juventus executives for false accounting.
A total of 11 former executives of Italian giants Juventus – Paracchi is one of them – have been banned from Italian football after the Italian federation used new evidence gathered in the Prisma investigation, to reopen a case it lost in 2022.
All 11 executives have denied any wrongdoing, and an appeal is due to be heard by the Italian Olympic Committee in April.
Until Wednesday, the ban was thought to apply only to Italian football, but FIFA then decided to extend the ban to all football worldwide, creating complications given its location at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium.
The Juventus board resigned as one last year before they were banned from eight months to two and a half years.
FIFA’s statement read: “FIFA can confirm that, at the request of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the Chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanctions imposed by FIFA on several football officials to have a global impact.”
Tottenham said they were not notified prior to FIFA’s announcement on Wednesday morning.
Paratici’s 30-month ban has been extended to all football-related activities, whether administrative, sporting or any other, at national and international levels – but Tottenham want clarity on those penalties.
As he was known, Paratici returned to Italy during the international break, as his return coincided with the previously planned start of criminal proceedings linked to the Juventus case, although this has since been postponed until 10 May.
