Napoli back to second in Serie after winning appeal

 　　ROME, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Napoli returned to the second place in Serie A standings after having had their two-point penalty annulled¹ on appeal in the match-fixing scandal on Thursday.

　　The club had been docked two points and fined 70,000 Euros by the Disciplinary Commission, while ex-third choice goalkeeper Matteo Gianello was banned for three years and three months.

　　He claimed that he had offered a potential fix to Cannavaro and Grava for the Sampdoria-Napoli match in May 2010, but that the pair turned him down point-blank.

　　The two teammates were banned for six months for failing to report the attempted fix to authorities, but insisted they had never even been approached.

　　Napoli took their appeal to the Federal Court and on Thursday the two-point penalty was wiped out, while Cannavaro and Grava have been exonerated². Gianello's ban was reduced to 21 months.

　　This puts Napoli back into second place, just three points adrift of leaders Juventus and on a par³ with Lazio.

1 annulled   

v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去

参考例句：

• Their marriage was annulled after just six months. 他们的婚姻仅过半年就宣告取消。
• Many laws made by the former regime have been annulled. 前政权制定的许多法律被宣布无效。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 exonerated   

v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police report exonerated Lewis from all charges of corruption. 警方的报告免除了对刘易斯贪污的所有指控。
• An investigation exonerated the school from any blame. 一项调查证明该学校没有任何过失。 来自辞典例句

3 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。