 |
|
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
   |  | |||||||||||||||||||||
Top Italy sides charged in scandal
 Journalists are handed copies of the Federation statement in Rome. ROME, Italy -- Italy's football prosecutor has ordered four top teams, Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina, to stand trial in a match-fixing scandal that could see them thrown out of Serie A if found guilty. The Football Federation (FIGC) said its prosecutor, Stefano Palazzi, had charged a total of 30 "subjects" for sporting fraud and violating fairness offences that can be punished by fines, bans and relegations. FIGC chose not to identify any of the others who will face the sports tribunal which has been organised to start next week in Rome's Olympic Stadium. But ANSA news agency said Luciano Moggi -- Juve's former general manager sometimes called "Lucky Luciano" because of his reputation as an influential character in the game -- and former CEO Antonio Giraudo had been charged. AC Milan said on their website that CEO Adriano Galliani -- who on Thursday resigned as head of Italy's football league -- had not violated the principle of fairness, an implicit acknowledgement that he had been charged. ANSA news agency later issued a list of all 26 of the individuals charged, including former FIGC president Franco Carraro, Lazio president Claudio Lotito, Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle and his brother Diego. All involved have denied any wrongdoing in Italy's biggest sports scandal in a quarter of a century. The FIGC statement was issued after Italy secured a place in the second round of the World Cup by beating the Czech Republic 2-0 -- timed to avoid hitting morale in a game that could have seen the national side ousted from the tournament. Fourteen players in the Italian squad play for the four teams that face trial. Ironically the first player to comment on the news was Juventus midfielder and Czech playmaker Pavel Nedved. "Whoever did wrong must pay and must go down to Serie B or even Serie C," Nedved said after his national side was bounced out of the World Cup after losing to Italy. The scandal erupted when newspapers published intercepted telephone conversations between Juventus's Moggi and senior FIGC officials discussing refereeing appointments during the 2004/05 season. Media have speculated that league champions Juve could be demoted to Serie C1 and be stripped of the Serie A titles they won in the last two seasons. Milan, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, also risk sanctions after phone taps showed an official discussing referee appointments with FIGC staff. In a reminder of how the affair bridges Italy's favourite sport and finance, FIGC was asked not to release the news during market trading hours to prevent disorderly trading in shares of Juventus and Lazio. Since the scandal broke in early May, Juventus shares have lost half their value. Juve shares closed up 5.9 percent on the day at 1.329 euros while Lazio shares, which only price once a day, added 4.32 percent to 29 cents, according to data on the Bourse website. A team convicted of "sporting fraud" risks sanctions ranging from having points deducted next season to relegation to a lower division and loss of titles. The charge of "violating fairness and probity" can lead to warnings or fines as well as points deducted, relegation and loss of titles. Individuals risk being banned from the sport. Any club or individual who is convicted can ask for an appeals trial which FIGC has promised will end by July 27, in time for FIGC to tell UEFA which teams will compete in next season's Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. In a previous major scandal to hit Italian football, AC Milan and Lazio were relegated for match-fixing in 1980 and several players were banned. 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| © 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
