Cristian Stellini expects Fabio Paratici to return to football after suspension

Tottenham interim head coach Cristian Stellini has expressed his hope that Fabio Paratici will return to football in the future, insisting that everyone deserves a second chance.

Paratici resigned from his role as managing director of football at Spurs on Friday morning after his appeal against a 30-month suspension from the sport was upheld on Thursday.

While the Italian National Olympic Committee’s Sports Guarantee Panel accepted Juventus’ appeal against its 15-point deduction for false accounting allegations and ordered a new trial, Paratici’s two-and-a-half-year suspension by the Court of Appeal of FIGC remains.

The Italian had already stepped down temporarily from his role at Spurs on March 31 when FIFA extended its ban globally, but has now officially left the Premier League club.

“He is a man who works with passion. I hope he (comes back),” Stellini said ahead of Sunday’s trip to Newcastle, one of four main rivals.

“I am very close to him on a human level and I hope he returns, but it is not my decision, it is Fabio’s decision. Also, the trial is not over.

“He could come back. I also believe that the trial is not over. There is another part of the case and he has to wait and do his best to come back soon.

“Everyone deserves to have a second chance in their life. This is important for everyone, but you have to work hard and be the best you can be.”

Stellini will know all too well the difficult place Paratici currently finds himself in after he was forced to serve his own suspension from football in 2012.

He resigned from his assistant coach job at Juventus before the FIGC suspended him over match-fixing allegations that had him debating his future in the game.

After spending time away from professional football working with refugees and asylum seekers in Turin, Stellini eventually returned to coaching Genoa’s youth team before a brief spell in charge of Serie C side Alessandria followed by a successful stint as the Antonio Conte’s number two at Inter Milan.

Stellini explained: “I work a lot on myself because if something happens, you have to react and be better in the future.

“I wait for my moment at that time and I analyze why I was at that moment and the way to be better in the future, so as not to have the same problem.

“This is an important job because you look in the mirror and you have to be strong if you think you are not perfect.

“At that moment I thought it was too much for me and I took a step back to analyze if football is what I want to do 100 per cent, and I decided that it was. I fight and go back to work. I think I’m trying to do my best every day.”

Meanwhile, Stellini doesn’t expect Paratici’s departure from Tottenham to affect his own position.

The 48-year-old is still hoping to take charge of Spurs’ last seven games this season.

“Yes, they said that my task is to finish the season. This is my task,” added Stellini. “I’m ready to do everything.”