Juventus might drop their appeal against a match-fixing ruling that demoted them to Serie B in exchange for a lesser penalty, a source close to the Italian club said this evening.

Dropping the appeal could clear the way for the start of the Serie A season, which has been delayed by two weeks to September 9th as Juve appeal to a civil court against a sports tribunal's ruling that sent them down to Serie B with a 17-point penalty.

An accord between Juventus, the Italian Football Federation and the Italian Olympic Committee could be based on a reduction in the penalty points, the source explained. Details have not been worked out.

The possible agreement followed a meeting today between Juve chairman Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, Olympic Committee President Gianni Petrucci and federation head Guido Rossi. The Turin club's board could decide the matter in a meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

In July, a sports tribunal hearing the match-fixing case stripped Juventus of their last two titles and put them in second tier Serie B with the points penalty. Juve have argued that the punishment is too harsh.

Three other clubs caught up in the scandal - AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio - kept their top-flight Serie A status, but with points penalties.