Juventus vows to appeal reduced penalty

(ANSA) - Rome, July 30 - An Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) appeal body on Thursday cut by half the punishment imposed on Juventus after 10 fans were injured when a firecracker was thrown during an April match against city rivals Torino - but Juve immediately vowed to appeal again.
    The punishment was reduced to one home game from the original two home-game closure of the Curva Sud stand of the Juventus Stadium.
    Still, Juve said it would appeal the latest ruling, complaining that Thursday's decision continued to unfairly penalize the club and its fans.
    In a statement, the club said it would appeal to CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee.
    "Today's decision by the FIGC Court of Appeal leaves us perplexed," as the perpetrator was found to not be a Juve supporter, the club said in its statement.
    "Juventus and its fans must not be made to pay the price for gaps and inefficiencies of others," said the statement.
    The closure penalty was originally imposed by Serie A's sporting judge after a firecracker exploded among Torino fans, after being thrown from a Juve section at a derby match on April 26. The appeal body on Thursday also reduced the fine against Juventus to 30,000 euros from the original 50,000 euros.
    At the end of April, a Serie A sporting judge imposed the original penalties as punishment for the thrown firecracker.
    However, it was quickly appealed by Juventus and the punishment was suspended by a FIGC tribunal in early May, while FIGC prosecutors investigated the case further.
    That allowed the team to have all its supporters at subsequent games.