ROME: Lazio captain Stefano Mauri can play again from the start of next month after having a suspension for failing to report matchfixing cut from nine months to six.

The midfielder was one of eight players accused of sporting fraud relating to Lazio’s final two matches of the 2010-11 season, when they beat Genoa 4-2 at home and Lecce by the same score away.

The 34-year-old was banned for six months last August by the Italian federation for keeping quiet about the fixes.

He then had his ban extended to nine months in October by the federal court of appeal (CGF), a decision the player and his legal team called “not only unjust but incomprehensible”.

Mauri then appealed to the National Tribunal of Sporting Arbitration which has now reinstated the original ban.

A statement said: “TNAS announces that in relation to Stefano Mauri and FIGC the Arbitration Board has partially upheld the demand for arbitration and accordingly upheld the decision of the National Disciplinary Committee dated Aug. 2, 2013, in which the player was handed the penalty of six months suspension.”

The ban began last August 2 so Mauri is eligible to play for Lazio on February 2 against Chievo.

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