Tottenham Hotspur managing director Fabio Paratici may have to step away from his role after Fifa extended his ban in Italy worldwide.

Paratici was given a 30-month ban in January after his former club Juventus were found guilty of false accounting.

The 50-year-old was sporting director and managing director at Juventus before joining Tottenham in June 2021.

Paratici and Juventus have both appealed against the decision.

Paratici’s initial ban only applied to Italian football, meaning he was able to continue working at Tottenham.

The extension of the ban coincides with Tottenham’s search for a new manager following the departure of Antonio Conte.

Conte left Spurs on Sunday with the club fourth in the Premier League but having been knocked out of the Champions League and FA Cup in recent weeks.

Paratici told the club website on Tuesday he and the club were “focused” on moving forward and finding a replacement.

“Fifa can confirm that following a request by the Italian FA (FIGC), the chairperson of Fifa disciplinary committee has decided to extend the sanctions imposed by FIGC on several football officials to have worldwide effect,” a statement from the world’s governing body read.

The entire board of the Serie A club, including president Andrea Agnelli and vice-president Pavel Nedved, resigned in November as a police investigation into the club’s transfer activity continued.

Juventus were subsequently docked 15 points by the FIGC in January. The Serie A club were accused of fixing their balance sheets by artificial gains from club transfers.

The absence of Fabio Paratici’s name from the statement confirming Antonio Conte’s exit that Tottenham released on Sunday night was taken by some as evidence the Italian’s tenure was in the balance too.

That seemed to be answered by Paratici’s statement to Tottenham’s own media yesterday.

Yet the rallying cry came with an asterisk because chairman Daniel Levy must have known this development was inevitable from the moment Paratici was given his 30-month ban by the Italian FA in January.

Paratici says he has done nothing wrong and Juventus continue to protest their innocence, but this must be decided through an appeal and the resolution will not be swift.

It puts more attention on Levy, the top-flight’s longest-serving chairperson, who has a massive call to make over Conte’s replacement, as well as the future of Harry Kane and the need to steady Spurs’ ship to give them a chance of making the top four.

This day was expected, but it merely adds to the sense of uncertainty at what should be one of the most stable Premier League clubs. (BBC)

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