Tottenham confirm return of former director of football Fabio Paratici - having served 30-month ban for false accounting

Fabio Paratici has returned to Tottenham Hotspur as Sporting Director after serving a 30-month ban for false accounting, the club have confirmed. 

The Italian was hit with the ban during his first stint in north London for his role in alleged financial regularities relating back to his time at Juventus in early 2023. 

Paratici later appealed the decision, unsuccessfully, before official stepping away from his role as at Spurs in April 2023. 

But now he's back, with Spurs confirming on Wednesday that Paratici is the club's new Sporting Director alongside Johan Lange. 

'I'm delighted to be returning to a club that I love,' the Italian said, 'I have been working with Johan, Vinai (Venkatesham) and Thomas (Frank) as a consultant for a number of months and I now look forward to returning to London and joining the team full-time. 

'I'm convinced that working in partnership with Johan we can build a special future for our club and supporters.' 

With the former Juventus chief continuing to work as an unofficial consultant at Spurs during his ban, when his suspension finished in July, there had been strong rumours of a return despite links to AC Milan.      

More to follow.