New Milan Calciopoli indictment
Tuesday 8 August, 2006
Milan’s Calciopoli trial isn’t over yet, as the club was indicted as part of the second wave of investigations.
Last night Reggina were indicted for sporting fraud after investigation into six games of the 2004-05 season. President Lillo Foti, former refereeing designator Paolo Bergamo and referees Pieri and Paolo Dondarini were also indicted by FIGC prosecutor Stefano Palazzi.
The area of the inquiry that relates to Milan, however, is that concerning Arezzo’s Serie B encounter with Salernitana that same season and a telephone conversation in which a linesman mentioned “holding back” Salernitana as they were attacking.
Tonight it emerged that Milan were also on Palazzi’s list put forward to the sporting tribunal due to former referees’ liaison for the club Leonardo Meani.
Meani was the man responsible for wiretapped telephone calls that saw Milan stripped of their automatic Champions League qualifying place, the chance to win the 2005-06 Scudetto and ordered to begin the next season with an eight-point handicap.
“It is with immense amazement that AC Milan discovered they had been indicted for indirect responsibility for an alleged irregularity by Leonardo Meani, relating to an event that supposedly took place around Arezzo-Salernitana in 2004-05,” read an official statement from the club.
“This was a Serie B match and the personal behaviour of Meani could not in any way be considered official Milan business, as the Federal Court confirmed in its appeal hearing.”
The indictment is for failing to report an alleged irregularity to the authorities.