Lawyer Montalto sul Cosenza: “Severe Penalty. Confidence in the Court of Appeal”

In recent days, the National Federal Court has published the reasons for the four penalty points inflicted on Cosenza for administrative violations. A sanction against which the Calabrian club has decided to appeal to the Court of Appeal for its annulment as explained by the lawyer Federico Montalto at the Southern Gazette: “Not having seen the trial documents I can only speak in general terms. I feel I must express my closeness to Cosenza and Roberta Anania. I am confident that the Court of Appeal, in application of Article 13 paragraph 2 of the Sports Justice Code, can take into consideration the mitigating circumstances. The defense team, however, is composed of experts in the field such as the lawyers of the Tonucci firm, De Gregorio and Fantini and Lubrano. For this reason, both Cosenza and Anania are in good hands”.

The cassation lawyer, among the first in Italy to specialize in sports law and management, extends his analysis: “The subjects are required to comply with the Code and obviously the company is directly responsible for the actions of those who represent it in accordance with the federal rules. However, I consider the sanctions imposed to be severe. The lawyers raised a series of mitigating circumstances. – continues Montalto – Professional companies are required to pay Irpef withholdings, INPS contributions, the end-of-career fund and related emoluments. This ruling cited by the National Federal Court, however, does not establish jurisprudence and does not prove anything about the behaviors detected on a disciplinary level and above all nothing about the imposition and application of the sanctions imposed.”.

“I therefore hope that the Court will reduce the sanctions, taking into account the absence of recidivism for Anania and for Cosenza, – concludes the lawyer – also re-establishing the principle of equal opportunities in sports competition, a cornerstone principle of the sports system”.