Juve President Agnelli's Football Ban for Alleged Ticket Touting Lifted by Italian Authorities

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has had his one-year ban for ticket touting lifted by the Italian Football Federation.

ESPN has reported that I Bianconeri's chief will now be allowed to return to the boardroom in Turin after the authorities elected to end his ban, but Juventus must pay a bigger fine and have been forced to play a match on home soil in a partially closed stadium.

Agnelli had originally been banned from all football activity for selling tickets to Juventus' band of ultra fans in September - a verdict that the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) reached as it stated that such a move encouraged touting.

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The FIGC's appeals court has now opted to fine Juve €600,000 and told the reigning Serie A champions to close the Curva Sad stand for the home clash with Genoa on 22nd January instead.

Rocco Dominello - a well-known member of the 'Ndrangheta mafia - was said to have met Agnelli several times in person and is believed to have earned significant benefits from doing so, including the sale of tickets to him.

Agnelli has denied all knowledge of Dominello's background but, despite his pleas, was found guilty in helping an ultra supporter leader to secure a number of matchday tickets that were then sold on the black market to help fund Dominello's mafia mob.

He had stated that meetings with Dominello had taken place but, when they had, it was during other engagements with Juventus fans during celebratory events and no private meetings had taken place between the pair.

Agnelli, who also sits on the European Clubs Committee board as chairman, has run Juventus since 2010 after taking up the reins of the club that his family has run for over 50 years.