By JOEY SAMUEL

Juventus are currently tied atop the Serie A as they look to defend their championship from 2011-12, and on Friday, the club received news that even further bolsters what has been an excellent start to the season.

An Italian sports arbitration court reduced coach Antonio Conte's ban from 10 months to only four months, meaning the Juventus manager will be back on the sidelines as early as December.

Conte was found guilty of failing to report match-fixing back in August and was handed a hefty 10-month ban. The incident that caused him to be suspended took place when Conte was managing Siena, who were in Serie B at the time.

The arbitration court reassessed the ban this week, though, and on Friday decided to reduce the ban to four months after deciding his implication in the scandal was not as egregious as previously thought.

Here are some other stories from around the soccer world:

ASHLEY COLE UNLEASHES TWITTER RANT ON FA

A further development in the John Terry racism case has emerged, as Terry's Chelsea teammate Ashley Cole blasted the Football Association on Friday via Twitter.

The Blues defender took to social media to make his feelings known, lashing out at the FA after the association had criticized Cole for coming to Terry's defense during the racism case. The FA only recently came to a verdict on Terry, banning him for four matches, although Terry then decided to retire from international football days later.

Cole was quick to apologize and remove the tweet, which included obscenities, but not before it reportedly received over 20,000 retweets. The FA is yet to comment.

VAZ TE OUT FOR UP TO THREE MONTHS

As if things couldn't get worse for West Ham United after being thoroughly dominated, 3-1, by Arsenal on Saturday, forward Ricardo Vaz Te had to leave the field with an injury. It appears the injury is serious, as Vaz Te will have to miss a considerable chunk of time.

The Portuguese striker suffered a dislocated shoulder during the loss, and after the match West Ham coach Sam Allardyce confirmed that he could miss anywhere from six to 12 weeks. If he misses closer to the 12 weeks, it could keep him out until around New Year's Day.

Vaz Te joined West Ham in January, and was a key part of their immediate promotion back to the Premier League. He had scored one goal in six matches entering Saturday.

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What do you think of these developments? Do you agree with the decision to reduce Conte's ban? Should Cole be suspended for his comments on Twitter? How will West Ham adapt to the loss of Vaz Te?

Share your thoughts below.