Appeals start in Italy's match-fixing scandal

ROME, July 22 (Reuters) The appeals trial in Italy's match-fixing scandal starts today with four clubs from the top Serie A division hoping to overturn guilty verdicts handed down last week by a sports tribunal.

Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio were found guilty of conspiring with referees and linesmen to rig games during the 2004/05 season.

Juventus were stripped of their last two titles and ordered to start next season in Italy's second division Serie B on minus 30 points. Fiorentina and Lazio were also sent down to Serie B with points penalties.

Milan avoided relegation, but were thrown out of next season's Champions League and ordered to begin their next Serie A campaign on minus 15 points. All four clubs have denied any wrongdoing.

The appeals trial starts at 9am (0700 GMT) before a panel of five judges in Rome's luxurious Hotel Parco Dei Principi.

The president of the appeals court, Piero Sandulli, has said he does not know when it will deliver its verdicts.

But Italian media speculate they will arrive after the July 25 deadline set by UEFA for the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to submit its list of teams for next season's Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions.

Should the appeals process remain unfinished on July 25, the FIGC commissioner Guido Rossi has said that Italy's list to UEFA would reflect the verdicts of the sports tribunal.

In that case, Juventus, Milan and Fiorentina would lose their places in the Champions League to make way for AS Roma, Chievo Verona and Palermo.

Reuters PM GC0848