Updated news about the Scandal [DO NOT POST COMMENTS] (18 Viewers)

[Geof]

La Stampa:

Regalo del Coni a Galliani:
squalifica "scontata" di 4 mesi
Galliani potrà festeggiare il Natale con il Milan a tutti gli effetti

Anziché il 14 aprile prossimo
rientro anticipato per Natale.
Il resto è stato convertito
in sanzione pecuniaria

ROMA
L’Arbitrato del Coni ha disposto per l’amministratore delegato del Milan Adriano Galliani la riduzione dell’inibizione al prossimo 23 dicembre: il resto dell’inibizione è stata commutata in una ammenda di 25mila euro «con vincolo di destinazione a finalità di promozione dell’attività giovanile e dilettantistica» da parte della Figc.

Questo il testo del dispositivo pubblicato oggi. «Il Collegio Arbitrale, all’unanimità dispone l’inibizione al sig. Galliani fino alla data del 23 dicembre 2006; condanna il sig. Galliani, a titolo di commutazione della residua sanzione, a versare alla FIGC, entro 30 giorni dalla pubblicazione del presente lodo, la somma di Euro 25mila; pone le spese del presente arbitrato, per onorari e spese del Collegio arbitrale, a carico dell’istante quanto al 80% e a carico della FIGC quanto al 20%».

Galliani, in seguito allo scandalo di Calciopoli era stato condannato dalla Caf a 2 anni di inibizione, pena ridotta quindi a 9 mesi dalla Corte Federale.


--------------

EDIT: Channel4

Galliani ban reduced
Monday 18 December, 2006
The Italian Olympic Committee’s Court of Arbitration has reduced the Calciopoli ban inflicted on Milan official Adriano Galliani.

The Rossoneri Vice-President was handed a nine-month suspension earlier this year in the aftermath of the scandal, which would have ended on April 14, 2007.

Galliani has always pleaded his innocence and therefore lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration, the highest level in sporting justice, in an attempt to see the punishment reduced.

The former Lega Calcio chief’s ban was cut down on Monday and his suspension will now end on December 23.

The rest of the punishment was a £17,800 fine, which will be paid to the Italian Football Federation within 30 days and will be used for youth activities.

 

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[Marc]

Scudetto: Copia del trofeo alla Juve

Matarrese media sulla vicenda scudetto 2005/2006 assegnato all'Inter: la Juventus non restituirà la copia del trofeo vinto sul campo. Intanto Moratti ritira l'originale.

La Stampa


EDIT: Here´s the full version:


Trofeo scudetto, a Cobolli la copia

Matarrese media: non sarà restituito.

Il pranzo di Natale della Lega è servito anche per consegnare ai club di serie A e B i trofei originali vinti nella passata stagione. «Non ho mai avuto fra le mani così tanti trofei», ha detto Massimo Moratti al termine della premiazione. E infatti ha dovuto chiedere aiuto ai fattorini per trasportare in sede ben quattro trofei: la Coppa–scudetto, la Coppa Italia, la Supercoppa italiana e la Coppa Italia Primavera. Moratti, dunque, solo ieri è riuscito a portarsi materialmente a casa lo scudetto più chiacchierato della storia del calcio, mentre il presidente bianconero Cobolli Gigli ha dovuto accontentarsi della copia, quella che nel maggio scorso venne consegnata a Capello, Moggi e Giraudo sul campo neutro di Bari.

Il buon Matarrese per non creare ulteriori imbarazzi non se l’è infatti sentita di chiedere alla Juventus di restituire il trofeo "tarocco" e neanche Moratti ne ha preteso la restituzione. Cobolli Gigli a onor del vero non è sembrato assolutamente contrariato dalla questione, si è soltanto limitato ad osservare: «La coppa scudetto consegnata alla Juventus si trova ancora in bacheca».

La Stampa

 

[ReBeL]

Matarrese slams FIGC


Lega chief Antonio Matarrese insists that Federal Commissioner Luca Pancalli was called to do a job that is not his own. “This isn’t his world,” he fumed.

There has been friction in the past between the union of the Serie A and Serie B clubs and the FIGC, and Matarrese explained why he cannot agree with the Federation’s policy.

“I feel tenderness for Pancalli, just as I did for Guido Rossi before him. These people were thrown in to the world of football, a world that does not belong to them,” said the official.

“I instead was called at the helm of the Lega Calcio,” added Matarrese, who was elected on August 8 in the aftermath of the Calciopoli scandal, which forced Adriano Galliani to step down as President.

“I was elected to replace persons who are now trying to get back in, directly or via their lawyers.

“When I am asked if I enjoy this football, the answer is always the same, no I don’t. I don’t like this situation, in the past the attention was not focused on the Lega and its chief.

“All the club Presidents should be ashamed, they destroyed history and the image of football with Calciopoli. Furthermore, politics are invading sport and this invasion must stopped,” concluded Matarrese.

The Lega recently approved new rules which will not allow a club representative to be named as the association’s President in order to avoid a new Galliani case.

Matarrese however, had stated that he did not agree with the new regulations that are currently being prepared by the Federation, which if approved would allow politics to “invade the world of football.”

Channel 4

 

[ReBeL]

Scandal-hit Serie A turned ugly in 2006


Even a fourth World Cup win for Italy could not prevent the self-proclaimed "most beautiful championship in the world" from showing its ugly side in 2006 as Serie A was rocked by its biggest ever match-fixing scandal.

"Calcio" has long been dogged by corruption, but nobody could have expected the bombshell which dropped on Italian football back in May.

The furore began when Italy's sports newspapers published transcripts of telephone conversations intercepted by prosecutors in Naples which involved the then Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi.

In the conversations, Moggi, one of the sport's most powerful figures, pressurises the head of Italy's referees association into allocating the officials that he wants for specific Juventus games.

Many referees were so intimidated by Moggi that they ensured decisions went Juventus' way to keep him sweet.

That was just the tip of the iceberg as more transcripts were leaked to the media, revealing a whole network of collusion with Moggi the central figure in rigging matches.

The web of deceit involved club directors, high-ranked Italian football federation (FIGC) officials, referees and players' agents.

FIGC president Franco Carraro resigned after it emerged he received the transcripts before the media but had failed to act, and shortly afterwards the entire Juventus board resigned as their share price took a hammering.

An FIGC investigation into the scandal was eventually opened, while separate criminal probes into sporting fraud began in Naples, Turin, Rome and Parma.

With the world watching as the international media picked up on "Calciopoli", the FIGC came under increasing pressure to act swiftly and Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio were all charged with match-fixing.

Juventus were originally relegated to the third division (Serie C1), while Fiorentina and Lazio were sent into the second division (Serie B).umpkin:

AC Milan were allowed to retain their top flight status due to their lesser involvement in the scandal, but were handed a 15-point penalty for the start of the 2006-07 season.

Juventus were also stripped of the league titles they won in 2004-05 and 2005-06 and along with Fiorentina and Lazio were denied access into the Champions League, Europe's premier club competition.

Despite being found guilty of rigging matches, Uefa controversially allowed Milan to keep their place in the competition.

But the fall-out from the match-fixing scandal didn't end there with all the clubs winning appeals against their sentences.

Juventus' final punishment was relegation to Serie B with a nine-point handicap, while Fiorentina and Lazio were reinstated in Serie A with points deducted. AC Milan's points penalty was reduced to eight from 15.

The climbdown by Italy's sports magistrates was heavily criticised by the Italian press.

"A rotten trick," wrote Il Libero newspaper. "The usual fudged Italian compromise.

"This isn't justice. Once again the magistrates have chosen the 'Italian' solution."

La Repubblica were equally damning of the judges' u-turn.

"The embarrassing and disheartening appeal verdict saw everything swept under the carpet," it said.

"Only Juve pay, the rest are pardoned. It's the same old timid handling by the sports tribunal.

"Discounts for everybody and an incredible gift for AC Milan. It ended with reduced sentences for all and an unpleasant feeling that football wants to pretend that at the end of the day nothing happened.

"It's scandalous to put your head in the sand and make out that it was just an hallucination."

By Stefano Blin

 

[ReBeL]

Football calls in the Fraud Squad
English game dragged into fresh inquiry after police’s Italian tip-off


English football risks becoming enmeshed in the corruption scandal that destroyed the credibility of Italian football earlier this year.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the probe into football by the City of London Police Fraud Squad was sparked by a request from Italian judicial authorities, who are investigating potential criminality in Serie A.

During a week in which Lord Stevens produced the findings of his own inquiry into corruption, which prompted Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore to state that ‘in one sense all the clubs are in the clear’, it appears that English football could be dragged into a pan-European inquiry.

Far from being able to relax this Christmas, the Premiership’s troubles may have only just begun. The City of London Police’s economic crime department, who have confirmed they are proceeding with an inquiry related to football although not directly to the Stevens probe or the BBC’s recent Panorama documentary, are acting partly in response to a request from Italian judges. And, unlike Stevens, there will be no 10-month time limit or pressure from investigators to back off.

The police, turning their attention to the apparently unregulated flow of millions of pounds across continents via offshore bank accounts, are the same team who investigated star jockeys Kieren Fallon and Fergal Lynch in a race-fixing inquiry. That case comes to trial next autumn, with Fallon, Lynch and four others accused of conspiracy to defraud; charges which all the defendants deny.

The preparation for that trial, with complex evidence gathered over three years, is indication of the rigour the football industry should now expect.

Although the police have been swift to requisition evidence from Lord Stevens, his findings are not central to their probe. But it could provide preliminary investigations of a potentially more serious and wider inquiry.

Although the Italian probe into SerieA appeared to focus almost entirely on the fixing of referees by Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, it is in fact a much wider investigation into the running of football in Italy.

Punishment for the so-called ‘Moggi system’, which resulted in the relegation of Juventus to Serie B, points deductions for AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio and the recommendation that Moggi be banned from football for life, was imposed by sporting authorities.

That was a minor aside for the judiciary, given that rules broken were sporting rather than criminal.

But Rome magistrates, leading the inquiry with help from colleagues in Naples and Turin, are more interested in the abuse of power in football and its murky financial netherworld, where players are traded as commodities for millions of pounds.

These financial movements may have breached strict money-laundering regulations, and once the Fraud Squad gets stuck into that, there could be prominent figures in football with much to fear. The Italian model of investigation has been to focus on one particular player agency, GEA Sports, which was controlled by the sons and daughters of the most powerful men in Italian football.

The disgraced Moggi’s son, Alessandro, ran the agency, which also employed Andrea Cragnotti, son of the disgraced former Lazio president Sergio, Davide Lippi, son of Italy’s World Cup-winning coach Marcello, and Chiara Geronzi, the daughter of the head of a banking group that financed Lazio.

What the Italians are trying to uncover is something more complex than bungs in brown envelopes. They want to know how their game became a closed-circuit system, where influence was used to extract favours and in which a cartel held sway to the detriment of sporting competition, using its power to enrich its members.

Whether they did so illegally or simply in an aggressive business fashion that fell within the law will be decided by Italian magistrates, and principals of GEA are merely under investigation at present, not directly accused of any specific crime.

But the notion of important football figures helping their sons achieve lucrative work for agents,thereby furthering their power, resonates in England.

It should be noted that none of the current powerful manager-and-son relationships in the Premiership are currently being investigated by the police, and it is not suggested that they operate like their Italian counterparts.

However, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s son, Jason, has been forced to abandon his operations as an agent due to journalistic investigations into his dealings, while Sam Allardyce’s son, Craig, was seen bragging on TV as to how he could get players into his father’s club, Bolton.

Allardyce Jnr has yet to deny a claim that he was paid by his father’s agent, Mark Curtis, for deals during a time in which the Bolton manager said he was barred from working on their deals.

Craig has also abandoned his career as an agent, and one of Stevens’s key recommendations in his report was that relatives of managers and executives should no longer work on deals which their clubs were involved in.

At present, though, it is not the likes of Craig Allardyce that worry the Fraud Squad, but the international trail of money transfers being examined in Italy that seemingly leads to England.

Because these cash transfers are so huge and seemingly unregulated, Britain’s Sports Minister Richard Caborn set in place the Independent European Sport Review two years ago, an attempt by European politicians to help the game’s authorities.

The fear among senior administrators at UEFA is that the greed manifested in Italy is not confined there. Only last week, UEFA chief executive Lars- Christer Olsson warned the Premier League that their initial rejection of the proposals of Caborn’s think-tank was evidence of unrestrained avarice that could ruin the English game.

‘The developments we had in Italy could also happen in England,’ said Olsson. He may prove to be more prescient than he realised. Football

Daily Mail

 

[ReBeL]

Tedeschi quits as ref boss


Referee designator Stefano Tedeschi has sensationally resigned after less than six months in the job.

Tedeschi made the decision last night after a growing number of his officials have been slated in the media for some high profile mistakes during the season so far.

“I think this decision is in the interest of the referees who I have had the honour of administering in these five months,” he explained.

“Referees who, despite their errors, do not deserve to spend the next six months being massacred.”

Tedeschi has put himself at the disposal of Italian Referees’ Association chief Cesare Gussoni, but has underlined that his decision to step down is final.

Gussoni, who only appointed Tedeschi on August 2, is now expected to hire a new man at the helm before Serie A and B resumes on January 13.

Whispers circulating around the peninsula on Sunday morning suggest that Pierluigi Collina [pictured] could be appointed.

Collina, formerly the best referee in the world, has been working as a pundit on Sky Italia since he hung up his whistle at the start of last season.

Channel 4

 

[ReBeL]

Trefoloni deferito per Roma-Juve


Il procuratore federale ha deferito l'arbitro Trefoloni per la condotta tenuta in Roma-Juve del 5 marzo del 2005, alla vigilia della quale chiese al designatore Bergamo di non essere inserito in griglia per "particolari difficoltà ambientali che ruotavano intorno all'incontro". Deferito anche il rossonero Seedorf in seguito alle affermazioni sull'arbitro Farina ("mi ha messo le mani addosso") il giorno seguente il derby.

E' passato oltre un anno e mezzo dalla partita in questione, ma l'arbitro Matteo Trefoloni, che nemmeno era il fischietto di Roma-Juve, è stato deferito dal procuratore federale. Il deferimento riguarda una partita nel mirino dello scandalo calciopoli per l'arbitraggio di Racalbuto (vittoria di 2-1 dei bianconeri con gol in fuorigioco di Cannavaro e rigore fischiato a Zalayeta per fallo commesso fuori area), ma con Trefoloni che si è rifiutato di arbitrare la gara. Il fischietto senese, secondo una sua deposizione ai carabinieri resa lo scorso maggio, chiese all'ex designatore arbitrale Paolo Bergamo "di non essere inserito nella griglia" per Roma-Juventus a causa delle "particolari difficoltà ambientali che ruotavano intorno a tale incontro" e "visti i precedenti non proprio idilliaci fra le due squadre, nonchè il clima teso creatosi fra le tifoserie". Il giorno seguente la richiesta Trefoloni fu contattato dall'allora segretaria della Can, Maria Grazia Fazi, la quale lo invitò a "produrre un certificato medico". L'arbitro, che seguì il consiglio, si rese indisponibile per arbitrare la gara presentando un certificato medico compiacente che denunciava "uno stato influenzale".

Trefoloni è stato infatti deferito perché ha violato gli articoli del Codice di giustizia sportiva che invitano alla trasparenza, lealtà sportiva oltre che ad obbligare i fischietti ad arbitrare salvo in caso di giustificato impedimento. Stessa sorte anche per Clarence Seedorf, ed anche il Milan per responsabilità oggettiva, "deferito per per aver tenuto una condotta contraria ai principi di lealtà, probità e correttezza e reso dichiarazioni lesive della reputazione dell' arbitro Stefano Farina". Il fatto risale al 29 ottobre scorso quando il rossonero denunciò in diretta tv il comportamento dell'arbitro nel corso dell'intervallo del derby milanese che si era svolto la sera precedente. "Nell'intervallo ho provato a parlare con l'arbitro Farina - dichiarò Seedorf - ma lui era nervoso e mi ha messo le mani addosso".

http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/sport/articoli/articolo342084.shtml

 

[ReBeL]

Calciopoli: `Giu`lemanidallaJuve` al Tar il 18/1


(AGM-DS) - Milano, 5 gennaio - L`Associazione `Giu`lemanidallaJuve` si presentera` davanti al Tar del Lazio il prossimo 18 gennaio. L`associazione, che a oggi conta circa 2000 iscritti di cui oltre 200 piccoli azionisti del club bianconero, `rinnova la fiducia per la Giustizia Amministrativa`, che il 18 discutera` l’istanza di sospensiva presentata nel mese di Dicembre contro la decisione deliberata il 27 ottobre 2006 dalla Camera di Conciliazione e di Arbitrato per lo Sport del Coni.

`Giu`lemanidallaJuve` contesta la decisione presa dal Coni nel procedimento di arbitrato (n.1336 del 6 settembre 2006) promosso dalla Juventus contro la penalizzazione inflittale nel campionato di serie B causa `Calciopoli`. L`associazione, con una nota rilasciata oggi, spiega di aver dato mandato all’Avv. Antonucci di presentare ricorso al Tribunale amministrativo regionale del Lazio `per richiederne l’annullamento, previa sospensiva, ivi inclusi tutti i provvedimenti connessi e conseguenti`.

http://www.datasport.it/leggi.aspx?id=4191664

 

[Mark]

ilmattino.it

"Independently of football, I say that Juventus is the lady of football and I don't agree with the decision to send them in Serie B. Juventus deservedly won the scudetto on the pitch. You guys that know everything, tell me in wich games they commited illicit measures? The Old Lady is missing to the Serie A, so is Napoli".

Carlo Mazzone

 

[ReBeL]

Conciliazione: le istanze di Moggi e Giraudo


(AGM-DS) - Milano, 15 gennaio - Sono state fissate le udienze arbitrali per le istanze di Luciano Moggi, Antonio Giraudo. I due ex-dirigenti della Juventus, condannati a cinque anni di inibizione dalla Corte federale dopo la sentenza di secondo grado nell`ambito del processo a `Calciopoli`, saranno ascoltati al Coni rispettivamente il 23 e 25 gennaio nel pomeriggio.

Fissata anche l`udienza di Tullio Lanese. Queste le date decise dai rispettivi Collegi arbitrali:

Martedi` 23 gennaio 2007, ore 15.00
Luciano Moggi/FIGC
Prof. Avv. Massimo Zaccheo (Presidente), Prof. Avv. Maurizio Benincasa e Avv. Dario Buzzelli (Arbitri)

Giovedi` 25 gennaio 2007, ore 15.00
Antonio Giraudo/FIGC
Prof. Avv. Massimo Zaccheo (Presidente), Prof. Francesco Tufarelli e Avv. Ciro Pellegrino (Arbitri)

Lunedi` 5 febbraio 2007, ore 11.00
Tullio Lanese/FIGC
Prof. Avv. Maurizio Benincasa (Presidente), Prof. Avv. Tommaso Edoardo Frosini e Avv. Massimo Ciardullo (Arbitri)

http://www.datasport.it/leggi.aspx?id=4207838

 

[ReBeL]

Moggi azzecca ancora gli arbitri


A due anni dalla telefonata con Bergamo in cui indovinava per 4/5 la griglia per la 24ª giornata di A, l'ex d.g. juventino ha colpito ancora con un 3/5, compreso Paparesta per Inter-Roma

Luciano Moggi alla trasmissione Il Bivio. ArcieriMILANO, 2 febbraio 2007 - Tre su cinque, "prova da designatore" superata diciamo con una sufficienza abbondante. A due anni dalla famosa telefonata con Paolo Bergamo, in cui stilava la griglia per la 24ª giornata di serie A, Luciano Moggi non sembra aver perso il suo intuito. In quell'occasione fece meglio (quattro su cinque, sbagliò soltanto Tombolini), ma anche stavolta il suo fiuto non lo ha tradito.

Qualche giorno fa, ai microfoni di Radio Kiss Kiss, aveva provato a prevedere quali arbitri avrebbero diretto alcune partite del weekend e più della metà delle sue previsioni sono andate a segno. L'ex d.g. bianconero aveva inserito nella sua personale griglia Rosetti, Messina, Farina, Paparesta e Tagliavento per le partite Catania-Palermo, Reggina-Messina, Ascoli-Milan, Parma-Fiorentina e Inter-Roma, aggiungendo, in particolare, che sarebbe stato Paparesta a dirigere il big match di San Siro. Un pronostico che il presidente dell'Aia, Cesare Gussoni, non ha certo digerito. "L'attività di designazione per le gare dei campionati di serie A e B non potrà mai subire l'influenza che si tenta forse di determinare - è stata la secca replica del numero uno dell'Assoarbitri -. La designazione, infatti, tiene oggettivamente conto della difficoltà delle gare e dell'affidabilità degli uomini-arbitri disponibili per la giornata in calendario". Sarà comunque proprio Paparesta a dirigere Inter-Roma, sfid scudetto di domenica sera.

http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Altro_Calcio/Primo_Piano/2007/02_Febbraio/02/MOGGI.shtml

 

[ReBeL]

Prosecutors seek indictment against Moggi


ROME (AP) - Prosecutors investigating corruption in the Italian soccer transfer market have requested the indictment former Juventus director Luciano Moggi along with seven other people, Italian news agencies reported Friday.

The office of Rome prosecutors would not confirm the report over the telephone.

The eight are accused of conspiring to control transfers by intimidating players into signing with sports management agency GEA World, which is run by Moggi's son Alessandro. Prosecutors said the intimidation often included threats of violence.

Also facing possible charges are Alessandro Moggi and player agent David Lippi, the son of Italy's World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi, the ANSA and Apcom agencies reported.

The probe is one of several criminal investigations nationwide into corruption in Italian soccer, including sports fraud, illegal betting and false bookkeeping.

GEA World handles more soccer transfers in Italy than any other management company and in 2005 had more than 200 players on its books, according to Italian daily Corriere Della Sera.

Associated Press

 

[ReBeL]

Arezzo appeal to TAR


Arezzo have decided to lodge an appeal to TAR against their six-point Calciopoli penalty.

The Tuscan minnows had been initially handed a nine-point deduction by the Federal Court last summer, then reduced to six after their appeal.

The Serie B side had then appealed to the Italian Olympic Committee’s Court of Arbitration, who however confirmed the handicap for the 2006-07 campaign.

“There is no evidence that any Arezzo official or employee was responsible of wrongdoing,” stated a note posted on the club’s website.

“However, we were handed a severe punishment. The club believes that we were the victims of prejudice and have therefore decided to lodge an appeal to the civil court, to protect our own legitimate interests.”

All the other clubs involved in the match-fixing scandal had decided not to go down this path, after both the FIGC and the International Federation had threatened to dock even more points if any scandal-hit club decided to go to the civil courts.

“We are confident that we might have a final verdict before the end of the season,” confirmed one of Arezzo’s lawyers.

Channel 4

 

[ReBeL]

Probe launched into Juventus and Standard Liege


BRUSSELS (AFP) - Shamed former Italian champions Juventus and Belgium's Standard Liege are being investigated over possible fraud.

An Italian magistrate has travelled to Belgium as part of an investigation into suspicious financial activities between the Italians and Belgians, Belgian legal sources said Thursday.

Turin's deputy public prosecutor has reportedly questioned Standard's vice-president Lucien D'Onofrio and former Standard Liege and Juventus player Serhiy Kovalenko of the Ukraine over the player's transfer to the Belgian side in 2005.

Italian authorities are keen to verify whether overpricing in the sale of several Juventus players had occurred in order to hide other cashflows from the club.

Other transfers highlighted for investigation are Uruguayan international goalkeeper Fabian Carini and Nigerian striker Benjamin Onwuachi, according to Belga press agency.

Carini, who was not a regular first team started for Juventus, signed for Standard in 2002 from the Italian club for five million euros. The Italian giants then bought him back for the 2003-2004 season only exchange him straight away for Inter Milan defender Fabio Cannavaro.

Standard are also being investigated by Belgian authorities for fraud and forgery.

AFP

 

[ReBeL]

Fiorentina fury at Calciopoli verdict


Fiorentina President Andrea Della Valle has threatened to quit after the latest Calciopoli verdict suggested the club did not deserve such harsh punishment.

“With that sentence they took away 45 points, the Champions League spot we had earned last term and perhaps cost us the same goal this year, while we lost £15m,” slammed the patron.

“I have to ask – who will recompense us for all of this? Someone has got to give us some answers. However, we do not intend to seek official compensation. I just want to express the anger of this club, the city and its fans.”

The side was originally demoted to Serie B in the summer, but a series of appeals saw them return to the top flight with a 15-point penalty – more than any of the other teams except for Juventus.

However, the details of the CONI Conciliation led by Marcello De Luca Tamajo were released today and suggested the evidence against the Viola was not so very damning.

Diego Della Valle saw his original ban of three years and nine months reduced to expire on March 31, while his brother Andrea (three years) and director Sandro Mencucci (18 months) can return at the end of the season.

The paperwork from the CONI states that the three Viola directors “moved to protect Fiorentina within the rules, therefore without taking any advantages nor suffering consequences.”

It also explains “they did this in reaction to alleged refereeing mistakes against them. They turned to the Federal Vice-President, someone who for his role within the institution could not help but represent a guarantee of fairness and legality.”

The main reason to punish Fiorentina appears to be the fact that Andrea Della Valle and Mencucci spoke directly to refereeing designator Paolo Bergamo.

This is illegal and not allowed within the rules. However, it should also be pointed out that throughout the Calciopoli trial and beyond, Bergamo confirmed almost all the club Presidents spoke to him directly.

“I will be honest, I thought about leaving the Presidency and I still have to evaluate fully what I will do next,” added Della Valle in his Press conference.

“It took a long time – over 10 months – to get some precise sentences and nobody found any match-fixing from Fiorentina. We lost 45 points and £15m, which would have allowed an ambitious club like ours to take that step up in quality.

“Not going into the Champions League for two years running is an incredible dent to the side and our long-term project. We will continue anyway, for the fans, the lads and the Coach. We must stay close to the team at this time.”

Despite the 15-point penalty – which was originally 19 – Fiorentina have clawed their way back to within 10 points of fourth place.

“At the start of the season everyone thought we were dead ducks, but now look where we are.”

Channel 4

 

[ReBeL]

Italian match-fixing punishments looking more and more soft as season progresses


LONDON -- With Juventus' tour of smaller Italian stadiums nearly complete, it's becoming increasingly clear that the punishments for the country's match-fixing scandal were basically meaningless.

Juventus did have to forfeit the last two of its record 29 Serie A titles and play this season in the second division for its part in a scheme to appoint favorable referees to its games. And all five teams involved in the scandal had to start the season with negative points.

But the sanctions weren't severe enough to inflict much harm on any of them.

Initially, the authorities reacted strongly to the scandal, but constant reassessments and reductions left only Juventus relegated to the Serie B, where it has been on a sort of dual welcome-farewell tour. It has been playing in smaller Italian cities like Trieste and Rimini where many of the local team's supporters are Juventus fans anyway.

Two other teams -- Fiorentina and Lazio -- were also supposed to play in the second division this season, but they were saved by the politicking that later lessened the penalties for everyone involved.

It would have meant more if they'd been dropped because then the three demoted teams would have fought for the Serie B title.

Instead, Juventus is playing to sellout crowds all over the country with nary an opponent that would be capable of seriously challenging for a Serie A title.

That's not really punishment. That's more like a season-long break from the grind of playing against the best teams in the league week after week.

Juventus did lose Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram to the Spanish league, but the "Old Lady" was lucky to keep Italians Gianluigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero, as well as former Czech Republic striker Pavel Nedved.

And even without the standout defensive unit that led it to the top of the standings at the end of the last two seasons, Juventus has been good enough this season to overcome its nine-point penalty and take over first place in the Serie B.

If the penalty had remained at the original 30 points, however, things would be much more interesting. Instead of leading the league by six points with about two months to go, Juventus would be trailing Genoa by 15 and well out of the promotion race.

The four teams that stayed in the Serie A have also essentially overcome their point deductions -- which is to say that they are all out of the relegation zone. None are close to Inter Milan, however, which has a massive 20-point lead and is looking forward to winning the title this year on its own.

"This is a team that hasn't celebrated a scudetto on the field in a long time, and now we're close," Inter striker Hernan Crespo said after the team beat Parma 2-0 Sunday. "We want to win in style."

It depends on what your definition of style is, though. Winning the title in a league deprived of its best team shouldn't exactly qualify.

But even with city rival Inter destined to win the title this season, AC Milan can't be all that upset.

Originally kicked out of the Champions League, the six-time European champions were allowed to compete in the lucrative competition and have now reached the quarterfinals.

In the league, AC Milan had its 15-point penalty reduced to nine. The team is now in sixth place, and only four points away from fourth -- and the final Champions League spot.

Lazio, which went from relegation to a seven-point penalty to finally a three-point penalty, is in third place and looking good for a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2003.

Besides Juventus, the only other team forced out of the Champions League was Fiorentina. And its penalty was reduced from relegation and a 12-point penalty to minus-15 points in the Serie A. It's now in seventh place in the league.

Reggina was a late arrival to the scandal punishments, but it later picked up a 15-point penalty, which was then reduced to 11. The team and its president were also fined.

Although Reggina is near the bottom of the league standings, it's won only one of its last seven games and can't complain too much that it deserves to be higher.

At least Juventus got a bundle of money from a new sponsorship deal last week. That should offset the only real punishment of the entire fiasco, which is that Juventus won't be able to cash in on the Champions League next season for the second straight year.

Associated Press

 

[Mark]

Telecom Italia: press office 06 april 2007







Telecom Italia announces that Mr. Guido Rossi today resigned, with immediate effect, from the positions of Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of Telecom Italia S.p.A.



Milan, 6 April 2007

 

[ReBeL]

Calciopoli II to hit Juve?


Juventus could reportedly face more penalties for their part in Calciopoli after public prosecutors in Naples wrapped up their investigation.

Naples prosecutors have finally closed their match-fixing probe after almost a year and have named 48 people who they suspect of wrongdoing, a standard step before possible criminal charges are issued.

It is now expected that their findings will be passed on to Saverio Borrelli, the head of the Italian Football Federation’s investigative team, who may opt to open a new sporting trial as a result.

It’s understood that a total of 39 games from the 2004-05 campaign are among a list of incriminated ties, 15 of which were not previously made known by the Naples set-up.

Among the fresh games under suspicion is a Juventus-Milan tie which ended 0-0 at the Stadio Delle Alpi from the season in question.

“The contacts took place via phone calls, thanks to secret sim cards that were provided by Moggi to designators Paolo Bergamo and Pier Luigi Pairetto, to Messina’s sporting director Mariano Fabiani, to referees Gianluca Paparesta, Salvatore Racalbuto, Stefano Cassarà, Antonio Dattilo, Paolo Bertini, Marco Gabriele, Tiziano Pieri, Massimo De Santis and Marcello Ambrosino,” read a note released by the Naples prosecutors.

As a result of their findings, the match officials and Messina – who have protested their innocence – could also be facing a sporting tribunal.

Messina chief Pietro Franza said: "We have always operated in absolute legal transparency. [Former sporting director] Mariano Fabiani will be cleared in a short time."

With regards to Juventus, it has been claimed that they may be asked to face more FIGC charges depending on what Borrelli finds in the reports.

But the Turin giants are remaining calm about the situation. “Until we have something concrete in our possession then it is not right to say anything,” said club lawyer Luigi Chiappero.

However, President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli quickly shot down claims that his outfit may face further penalisation for either this season or next.

“We have to make it clear that Calciopoli didn’t start with Juventus,” he argued. “We’ve already paid the price for it, perhaps too much.

“After all, the decision to take away the 2006 Scudetto from us and hand it to Inter is still incomprehensible today.”

Lazio, Milan, Reggina, Fiorentina and Arezzo were the other clubs punished by the FIGC for their part in Calciopoli, as well as numerous club, FIGC and refereeing officials.

Only one referee, Massimo De Santis, was found guilty of misconduct in the sporting courts.

Channel 4

 

[ReBeL]

Italian football scandal takes new twist


ROME (AFP) - A corruption scandal which rocked Italy's Serie A to its foundations last season has taken a new twist after public prosecutors in Naples closed their investigation by making fresh accusations.

On Thursday prosecutors, this time dealing with the purely legal side of the affair, named 48 people, five of whom were not questioned in the initial investigation, they suspect of wrongdoing.

Twenty-five referees and linesemen, 18 of whom are still working in the Italian league, also remain under suspicion according to prosecutors.

Italy's national referees' commission reacted to the news by suspending two referees and two linesmen who were supposed to officiate at second division matches this weekend.

Public prosecutor Filippo Beatrice told AFP Friday that prosecutors would be aiming to act on their most recent investigation.

"We're hoping to be able to bring this to court between now and June," he said.

"There are nearly 40 suspect matches (as opposed to 19 initially). The investigation has led us to confirm that certain top club officials were in regular telephone contact with referees and top officials with the Italian federation."

According to prosecutors, some of the unsavoury acts carried out by corrupt referees included handing out yellow cards to certain players, leading at times to their unavailability for future matches, especially against Juventus.

Naples prosecutors also pointed at a number of questionable penalty or off-side decisions made by referees, made to favour the teams implicated in the scandal.

AFP

 

[isha00]

Don't be alarmed, the news is just that the prosecutor office in Neaples closed the investigation they have been working on for the last 3 years and they informed the investigated persons of it.
It was totally expected: after 3 years of spending the public money for this and with a whole year under the spotlight, it's not like they could say "Hey, yeah, you know, we were wrong, it was a total waste of money, so, have a nice day!".

The investigation is always on the 2004-05 season, all things that (if true) we already paid for. (Interesting is that for the false turnovers case Figc is going slow as hell and for us the media report them as already in turmoil )

If it can be of assurance, here is a statement of lawyer Stagliano, ex viceprosecutor of Figc:

Calciopoli bis: avv. Stagliano: 'La Juve non rischia nuove sanzioni'

13:02 del 13 aprile

La Juve non rischia nuove sanzioni da calciopoli. Lo spiega in un'intervista ad Affaritaliani.it, l'avvocato Mario Stagliano ex numero due dell'Ufficio Indagini Figc. Che spiega: "Se rimaniamo nell'ambito dell'articolo 1 per aver condizionato l'intero campionato di calcio, la società bianconera è già stata condannata per tutta la stagione 2004/2005. Sul Messina precisa che la posizione "va valutata ex-novo, perché la società sicula non è mai finita sotto la lente d'ingrandimento della giustizia sportiva". Però attenzione: "Fabiani all'epoca era un direttore sportivo, non era in grado di impegnare personalmente la società. Quindi il Messina eventualmente risponderebbe per responsabilità oggettiva".


Fonte:www.calciomercato.com

He says that we already have been condemned for the whole 2004-05 (remember the illogical "structural illicit" I often told you about?). Messina, on the other hand, was not judged last summer, but in their case it would just be objective responsability, not that we should care.

Anyway, Moggi has been looking forward to being able to discharge himself in Napoli, saying he has many and many documents to present in his favour. We'll wait and see.