Kieran Maguire drops ‘extreme’ Tottenham claim as extended ban on the cards
Tottenham need to act with ‘extreme caution’ if they plan to sack or remove Fabio Paratici from his role as director of football.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the 30-month ban facing the Italian director.
Paratici was handed a 30-month ban from carrying out activities within the Italian Football Federation as part of an investigation into financial mismanagement at his former club Juventus.
The investigation has already seen 11 officials banned and the Serie A club docked 15 points.
As reported by Sky Sports, FIFA has since extended Paratici’s ban to worldwide activities, rendering him unable to fulfil his director role in North London.
Tottenham revealed via a club statement on Friday (31 March) that Paratici will take an immediate leave of absence pending the outcome of his appeal.
Maguire believes sacking Paratici will only land Spurs in legal trouble as he has to be considered innocent until proven guilty.
“Unless Tottenham can prove gross misconduct, then they have to be careful as to what grounds they can use to terminate Paratici’s contract,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“Spurs were aware of the issues in Italy months ago and chose not to take any action.
“They will be addressing their lawyers, but Paratici will be too and a legal battle seems inevitable.
“It is important to remember he is innocent until proven guilty, and therefore he will be in a position to defend himself.
“So if Tottenham did decide to sack him, they need to act with extreme caution.“
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