Could Inter be demoted?
Wednesday 20 June, 2007
Lawyers warn that Inter could be demoted to Serie B if the financial scandal is proved in the sporting courts!
The club has been named as part of an investigation into creative accounting in Serie A and a member of the Covisoc – the association that performs financial checks on Italian clubs – accused them of fiddling their 2005-06 accounts with artificially inflated player values, known as plusvalenze.
At first it seemed as if this would only result in a fine for the Nerazzurri, but specialist lawyer Mattia Grassani has a very different view.
“Financial fraud is a very serious crime, second only in the sporting justice system to sporting fraud,” he noted.
“The sanctions for directors go from a simple fine to up to five year suspensions with the possibility of a lifetime ban.
“For clubs the punishment can be either a fine, points penalties or even demotion. In the rules there is also the possibility of stripping the Scudetto, but that is up to the Federation President to decide.”
After Juventus were relegated to Serie B for their part in the Calciopoli scandal with Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina all given points penalties, will the justice system be equally as harsh on Inter?
“First of all we must ascertain whether Inter or indeed any other side has falsified financial documents, thanks to which they entered a competition that they would otherwise not have been qualified for,” explained former Investigative team member Mario Stagliano.
“In that case, we could begin inflicting the penalties set down by the rules.”
Although Inter are the newest additions to this investigation, Milan, Reggina and Sampdoria have already been named as part of the inquest.
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Good question