It did turn out to be a slap on the wrist, partly...

Fox Sports is reporting that Fiorentina and Lazio were restored to Serie A after successfully appealing their demotion to Serie B for the match fixing scandal that has been rocking Italy this summer. AC Milan were also given a bit of a reprieve from their points deduction, losing only 8 points instead of 15, thus they will be able to play in the Champions league this season, but they must play in the qualifiers, which means they have two early season matches ahead of them.

Still the big loser is the Old Lady, Juventus. They are to remain in Serie B this upcoming season, which probably means any of their superstars that have yet to swear allegiance to Juve, will start heading for the doors soon. Their point deduction was reduced though, from 30 points to 17 points. This is actually a great sign as it provides Juvetus a better chance of returning to Serie A after just one season in Serie B.

Something told me that the Italian Sports Courts would not effectively castrate their flagship league. Having both AC Milan and Juventus out of the Champions League for the 2006/2007 season would have been devastating for Italian football, especially after winning their 4th World Cup. By reducing the point deficit that Juventus has almost effectively gets them back to Serie A play for the 2007/2008 season. Even with their fire sale of current players, Juventus should have no problem rolling through the ranks of Serie B clubs and return to top flight football.

So much for taking a stand against corruption.