Moggi loses appeal against life ban

The decision comes as Italy faces up to a new fixing scandal involving Bari with daily revelations filling the newspapers only months after Atalanta were embroiled in their own controversy over betting and match manipulation.

Moggi's fellow former Juventus director Antonio Giraudo also had his life ban confirmed by CONI's highest court, a statement said.

The pair were banned for five years following the "Calciopoli" scandal which led to Juventus being relegated to Serie B and being stripped of their 2005 and 2006 titles after being found guilty of procuring favourable referees.

In June last year, the Italian football federation decided to exile them for good but the pair appealed.

In November, Moggi was sentenced to five years and four months in jail for sporting fraud following a criminal trial linked to the affair.

Moggi had also previously been convicted of trying to manipulate the transfer market via a management agency in a separate criminal trial.

He is unlikely to spend time in jail due to Italy's lengthy appeals process and an edict not to imprison offenders for many non-violent crimes.

After several difficult seasons, Juve are back to where they were before their demotion and are fighting for the Serie A title with champions AC Milan.