Juventus fans face bitter-sweet World Cup final

ROME, July 8 (Reuters) Juventus fans face a bitter-sweet World Cup final tomorrow, cheering on their club heroes in the Italy team yet dreading banishment of their team to the lower reaches of Italian football early next week.

''Even if Italy win tomorrow night, we won't be able to enjoy it 100 percent,'' said Enzo Catalano, president of a Juventus fan club in the town of Benevento, near Naples.

Like millions of fans of the Turin team spread across Italy, Catalano is angry at what he calls unfair treatment for Juventus by a sporting tribunal investigating alleged match-fixing.

''They want to punish Juventus more than all others, just because Juventus is Juventus'' he said.

Juventus have been Serie A champions for the last two years and are the country's most successful and popular club team.

At least four Juve players are expected to start for Italy in the World Cup final against France in Berlin. Two others are set to play for France.

An Italian prosecutor has asked the tribunal to relegate Juventus to the third division for what he says was its role in attempts to influence the appointment of referees to matches.

The prosecutor also wants to annul the team's last two Italian league titles. Three other top Italian clubs are in the dock too -- AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio.

The four clubs have denied the match-fixing charges.

PATRIOTIC PAYBACK A sports tribunal is due to announce its verdict as soon as Monday although the head of the panel was quoted as saying today it would probably not come that quickly.

Many Juventus fans are pinning their hopes on Italy beating France tomorrow, and not just because of their patriotism.

The euphoria of victory might soften the hearts of the tribunal's members, they say.

''It will be influenced by how the World Cup finishes. We Italians are made that way,'' said 51-year-old Sandro Cialli in Rome. ''If Italy win on Sunday then Juventus won't be sent lower than the second division.'' He recalled how Italians protested when striker Paolo Rossi was included in the 1982 World Cup squad, after a shortened ban for his role in a corruption scandal. But Rossi returned a national hero after helping the team to victory.

Several politicians have suggested an amnesty for the clubs involved in the scandal would be merited if Italy are world champions again, although many others are opposed to the idea.

Most Juventus fans are resigned to relegation. They hope it will be only to the second division, something a club lawyer last week suggested would be an acceptable punishment.

''The season after a World Cup is always a bit of an anti-climax anyway,'' said Giulio, a Juventus fan on the island of Sicily who asked not to have his surname published.

''But don't forget, Juventus is one of the great European clubs. We will be back.'' REUTERS AY RK2050