Chievo deducted 3 points in Serie A for false accounting

ROME (AP) — Chievo Verona will appeal Thursday's decision to dock the club three Serie A points and fine it 200,000 euros ($232,000) for false accounting.

President Luca Campedelli was also banned for three months after the Italian soccer federation (FIGC) found Chievo guilty of deliberately inflating the figures of transfer dealings with Cesena in order to have the necessary balance sheets to register for the past three seasons.

The FIGC's prosecutor had requested a 15-point deduction.

"We are amazed and dissatisfied by the outcome of today's ruling," Chievo said on its website. "We firmly believe, now more than ever, the club has always acted with honesty and transparency, and the investigations by the prosecutor were not carried out properly.

"We therefore believe Chievo Verona does not deserve this reduced penalty, which for that matter is clearly the result of the awareness on the part of the court of the weakness of the prosecution's case. We will therefore appeal, confident the sporting justice will at the end recognize our reasoning."

Chievo now has negative points after losing its first two matches and drawing the other.

The club risked being deducted points from last season, and relegation, in an initial trial in the offseason but that was thrown out on a legal technicality.

Chievo finished 13th last season, five points above 18th-place Crotone, the last club to be relegated.

Cesena, which has gone bankrupt, was docked 15 points in the initial trial.