Brazilian international striker Edmundo was yesterday sentenced to four and a half years in prison in a Rio de Janeiro criminal court.

The Fiorentina player will serve his sentence in a semi-open prison with the potential for day release.

He was held responsible for a traffic accident in December, 1995, in which three people died, including two young women in the jeep he was driving.

The accident occurred in the luxury Rio quarter of Lagoa as the player was leaving a discotheque. Edmundo was driving his jeep at high speed when it hit a car and instantly killed the driver.

Edmundo's lawyer Jose Mauro Couto said he would appeal the judgment but the court has indicated it will demand the player's extradition from Italy so he can serve his sentence.

The Italian Football Federation's disciplinary commission have slapped a six-month ban on Perugia's Sergio Campolo after he tested positive for marijuana following the match against Parma on October 25th. But the penalty was reduced to two months after the player co-operated with authorities, admitting he had smoked the drug with friends during a crisis in his personal life.