Former Juve striker Miccoli sentenced to prison for mafia-aggravated extortion

Former Italy and Juventus striker Fabrizio Miccoli has had a sentence of three-and-a-half years in jail upheld for extortion, aggravated by mafia methods, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Miccoli was found guilty in 2017 of approaching the son of a mafia boss to recover 12,000 euros from a nightclub owner in Palermo on behalf of a former Palermo football club physio.

He denied the charges and appealed the conviction.

On Wednesday, Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation, the country's highest court of appeal, upheld the guilty verdict, ANSA said, with Miccoli given the three-and-a-half year sentence.

The incident took place in 2010 and 2011. In 2013, Miccoli was forced to apologise after he was accused of insulting the murdered anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone.

Palermo's anti-mafia unit served Miccoli with an official notice of investigation after wiretap evidence showed him using the son of a mafia boss to recover money.

According to Sky Sport Italia, Miccoli handed himself in to police in the northern city of Rovigo after the verdict was given on Wednesday.

The 42-year-old scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing Perugia, Juventus, Fiorentina and Palermo, while he netted twice for Italy in 10 appearances for his national side.

Miccoli's most recent position within the game was assistant coach of Albanian second division side, FK Dinamo Tirana.