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Previous Italian football scandals



June 20 (Reuters) - The match-fixing scandal that has engulfed the elite of Italian football is the biggest to hit Serie A for more than 20 years.

The following factbox describes some of the previous scandals:


TORINO STRIPPED OF THE SERIE A TITLE, 1927

At the end of the 1926-27 season, Juventus's city rivals, Torino, celebrated their first Serie A title before a newspaper article prompted the Italian Football Federation to investigate claims that the club had bribed opposition players. The investigation found that a Torino official had paid Juventus defender Luigi Allemandi 50,000 lire to underperform in the derby, which Torino won 2-1. Torino were stripped of the title and Allemandi was banned for life, but he was granted an amnesty the following year when the Italian football team won bronze at the Olympic Games.

- - - -

AC MILAN, LAZIO RELEGATED FOR MATCH-FIXING, 1980

The match-fixing scandal that broke at the end of the 1979-80 season rivaled the scale of the current one. AC Milan president Felice Colombo and players from Lazio, Avellino, Perugia, Genoa and Lecce were arrested for match-fixing and illegal betting. Colombo was banned from football for life. Several players, including former national team goalie Enrico Albertosi and Italy's 1982 World Cup hero Paolo Rossi, also received bans.

- - - -

THE JUVENTUS DOPING TRIAL, 2001-present

The controversy began in July 1998 when Czech coach Zdenek Zeman, then in charge of AS Roma, told Italian magazine L'Espresso that "Italian football has to get out of the pharmacy", and pointed a finger at Juventus. The resulting investigation by Turin magistrate Raffaele Guariniello concluded club doctor Riccardo Agricola had doped players between 1994 and 1998. Agricola was found guilty and handed a 22-month suspended prison term at the end of the first trial in November 2004. That sentence was overturned on appeal in December 2005. A third and definitive ruling is expected later this year.

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GENOA SENT DOWN FROM SERIE A TO SERIE C1, 2005

At the end of last season Italy's oldest club, Genoa, won promotion back into the top flight after finishing top of Serie B. The celebrations were cut short when a federation investigation found the club guilty of paying Venezia 250,000 euros to guarantee a win in their final game of the season. Instead of going up, Genoa were demoted to Serie C1, Italy's third division.

Reuters

 

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Thursday is Calciopoli charges day

The clubs and individuals under investigation for sporting fraud will be informed of any possible charges they will face on Thursday evening, it has been confirmed.

Reports in Italy had suggested that the Italian Football Federation’s prosecutor, Stefano Palazzi, would reveal his charge sheet at some stage on Wednesday.

However, the FIGC have stated that Palazzi will unveil the list of clubs and individuals who will face a sporting tribunal on Thursday evening at the earliest.

“They [the names and charges] will be issued tomorrow after the stock market closes,” stated FIGC commissioner Guido Rossi.

He added that the decision to delay the announcement was at the request of Consob chief Lamberto Cardia who is in charge of the stock market regulator.

The stock market will close at 17.30 hours local time, just minutes before Italy’s final Group E World Cup clash ends against the Czech Republic.

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Players braced for fallout from scandal


IN ROME THIS afternoon, just as Italy wind down their group E match against the Czech Republic, prosecutors will charge the clubs and individuals involved in the country’s match-fixing scandal.

The eventual outcome could see some unfamiliar names among Italy’s representatives in the Champions League and Uefa Cup next season as the four clubs directly involved in the scandal — Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio — face punishments from relegation to points deductions.

Thirteen members of the Italy squad play for the four clubs and their future is in question, particularly those who play for Juventus, who are likely to be relegated. Players such as Gianluigi Buffon, Gianluca Zambrotta, Mauro Camoranesi and Fabio Cannavaroumpkin: will probably move on.

The punishment handed to Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina — whose alleged crimes are lesser than those of Juventus — are likely to be directly proportional. If Juventus are sent down to Serie C1 — Italy’s third division — then the trio will likely be relegated from the top tier. Otherwise, the three clubs will face points penalties that, in the case of Milan and Fiorentina, will deprive them of Champions League football and could yet lead to a mini fire-sale of stars such as Kaká and Luca Toni.

As it stands, Italy’s list of teams in Europe next season is likely to include Chievo and Palermo in the Champions League and Ascoli and Empoli in the Uefa Cup.

By GABRIELE MARCOTTI
The Times

 

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FIGC charges after Czech tie


Prosecutor to issue scandal indictments when bourse closes (ANSA) - Rome, June 21 - Soccer federation indictments in Italy's biggest-ever sports scandal will be issued by federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi after the Italian bourse closes on Thursday - and just after Italy plays a key World Cup tie against the Czech Republic .

Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) administrator Guido Rossi told reporters his decision was in accordance with the wishes of bourse oversight body Consob, which has foreseen large movements in the stock of the two listed clubs involved, Juventus and Lazio .

Two other clubs, AC Milan and Fiorentina, have been implicated in the match-fixing scandal. Between them, the four clubs have 13 players in the World Cup: Juventus' Gianluigi Buffon, Gianluca Zambrotta, Alessandro Del Piero, Mauro Camoranesi and Fabio Cannavaro, AC Milan's Alberto Gilardino, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Filippo Inzaghi, Lazio's Massimo Oddo and Angelo Peruzzi, and Fiorentina's Luca Toni. None of the players have been accused of wrongdoing - except for Buffon in a separate sports betting probe - but the announcement of indictments, and recommended penalties, is sure to affect them .

Italy will top its group and avoid tournament favourites Brazil in the next round if it beats the Czechs or if it draws with the Czechs and Ghana does not beat the US. Juventus, which clinched its 29th Italian title last month, is expected to face the stiffest charges in the FIGC trial, due to start next week. The Turin giants could be relegated to the third division and lose their two most recent Italian titles, while the other three clubs are likely to be relegated to the second division - although Milan is said to be more heavily implicated. All four clubs would therefore be eliminated from European competition next year .

Rossi said the delay in announcing the indictments would not affect the schedule for the sporting side of what has been called 'Soccergate' or, after its alleged ringleader, Juve's ex-general manager Luciano Moggi, 'Moggigate'. Palazzi will press charges against clubs and individuals suspected of wrongdoing at an FIGC tribunal which will convene next Tuesday, June 26-27 .

The tribunal should issue its sentences by July 9 .

Appeals should be heard before July 20, so the whole sporting disciplinary process can be wrapped up before UEFA conducts the draws for next season's European club competitions .

Four separate criminal probes into the scandal are expected to take much longer .

A month ago Rossi appointed ex-Clean Hands spearhead Francesco Saverio Borrelli to examine wiretaps of Moggi and officials from other clubs talking to, or about, referee appointers, referees, linesmen and FIGC officials who have since resigned .

On Monday Borrelli handed over his 193-page report to Palazzi .

AC Milan fans immediately began sweating about the prospect of following their team in Serie B next year, after press reports suggested the club was more heavily implicated in 'Moggi-gate' than previously thought .

Up to now the main suspect has been Juventus, because of Moggi's allegedly central role .

Lazio and Fiorentina were also thought to be in danger of relegation, on the basis of wiretapped conversations recorded during criminal probes and published in newspapers, while Milan's role was seen as marginal .

But according to press reports this week, Borrelli has concluded Milan committed "systematic misconduct" .

Apparently, Borrelli's report suggests Milan ran an alternative to the Moggi system, which the club used to make sure it, too, was assigned 'friendly' match officials .

The press said Milan's situation is now considered to be more serious than that of Lazio and Fiorentina .

In one of the published wiretaps, Milan official Leonardo Meani praises a referee for his handling of a game and even promises that the club's chairman, former premier Silvio Berlusconi, will send him to his hair-transplant doctor in Switzerland .

But Italy and Milan midfield star Gattuso seemed unconcerned on Tuesday .

"I'm certain Milan will stay in Serie A, even in the light of the wiretaps," the player said from the Azzurri camp at the World Cup .

"It seems to me that it would be too much to relegate a side because Meani says 'I'll get you a hair transplant' in a telephone call" .



ANSA

 

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AC Milan and Juventus charged over match-fixing



ROME (AFP) - AC Milan, Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina were all charged by Italian football federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi over their role in match-fixing.

The Serie A giants will go on trial in Rome from next Tuesday or Wednesday on charges of sporting fraud.

"Stefano Palazzi has announced 30 people or clubs, including Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina for violations of articles 1 and/or 6 of the sporting code of ethics," the federation (FIGC) announced in a statement.

The FIGC statement did not give the names of any of the individuals charged, nor those of any other teams implicated.

It also did not specify if the four teams mentioned were being charged with direct or indirect sporting fraud.

In the case of a direct misdemeanour, all four teams could be relegated to the second division, if the tribunal follows the prosecutor's request.

However, if the fraud is deemed indirect they face having points deducted ahead of next season's league campaign.

A verdict is expected between July 7 and 9, the latter date being that of the World Cup final, in which Italy could be involved.

The announcement was made just minutes after Italy's national team qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup after beating the Czech Republic 2-0 in Hamburg.

Thirteen of the national squad play for the four clubs charged.

In the case of appeals, a definitive decision should be known by July 20 according to the timetable set out by the FIGC.

AFP

 

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Four clubs indicted in Italian scandal



ROME (AP) -- Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina were ordered to stand trial in a sports court and face possible demotion from Serie A.

Federation spokesman Alessandro Salerno said Thursday that 26 people -- but no players -- were also ordered to stand trial. No names were given, but officials of Juventus, the team most implicated, and other soccer officials reportedly make up that group.

The trial begins Wednesday at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. It is expected to center on match-fixing allegations.

Associated Press

 

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Article One is a general rule which explains that `whoever is subject to the observation of the federation's rules must do so according to the principles of fairness, correctness and honesty'.

Article Six explains that `the execution, through any means, of acts aimed at altering the course or result of a match, or at ensuring an advantage to anybody in the league table is a punishable offence'.

If any of the clubs are found guilty of violating Article Six, they face the minimum penalty of automatic relegation to an inferior level.

An infringement of Article One is punishable by the docking of points in the subsequent season.

Reuters

 

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Penpix of Juventus, Lazio, AC Milan, Fiorentina



ROME, June 22 (Reuters) - Following are short profiles of the four clubs charged by Italy's soccer prosecutor on Thursday over allegations of match-fixing:

Juventus
Full club name: Juventus Football Club
Nickname: La Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady)
Founded: 1897
Italian league titles: 29
European honours: Two
European Cups: (1985, 1996); three UEFA Cups (1977, 1990, 1993); Cup Winners' Cup: 1984
Coach: Fabio Capello
Top international players: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), Alessandro Del Piero (Italy), Pavel Nedved (Czech), David Trezeguet (France), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Patrick Vieira (France)
Great players of the past: Michel Platini (France), Paolo Rossi (Italy), John Charles (Wales), Dino Zoff (Italy), Zinedine Zidane (France), Zbigniew Boniek (Poland), Giampiero Boniperti (Italy)

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AC Milan
Full name: Associazione Calcio Milan
Nickname: Rossoneri (Red and Blacks)
Founded: As Milan Cricket and Football Club in 1899
Italian league titles: 17
European honours: six European Cups (1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003); two Cup-Winners' Cups (1968, 1973)
Coach: Carlo Ancelotti
Top players: Dida (Brazil), Kaka (Brazil), Andrea Pirlo (Italy), Gennaro Gattuso (Italy), Clarence Seedorf (Netherlands), Paolo Maldini (Italy), Alessandro Nesta (Italy)
Great players of the past: Gianni Rivera (Italy), Franco Baresi (Italy), Marco van Basten (Netherlands), Frank Rijkaard (Netherlands), Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)

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Fiorentina
Full name: ACF Fiorentina
Nickname I Viola (The Violets)
Founded: 1926
Italian league titles: Two (1956, 1969)
European honours: Cup Winners' Cup 1962
Coach: Cesare Prandelli
Top players: Luca Toni (Italy), Tomas Ujfalusi (Czech), Valeri Bojinov (Bulgaria), Martin Jorgensen (Denmark)
Players of the past: Roberto Baggio (Italy), Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina), Giancarlo Antognoni (Italy), Julinho (Brazil)

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Lazio
Full name: Societa Sportiva Lazio
Nickname: Biancocelesti (Sky Blues)
Founded: 1900
Italian league titles: Two (1974, 2000)
European honours: Cup Winners' Cup 1999
Coach: Dario Rossi
Top players: Angelo Peruzzi (Italy), Paolo Di Canio (Italy), Massimo Oddo (Italy), Valon Behrami (Switzerland), Goran Pandev (Macedonia)
Great players of the past: Giorgio Chinaglia (Italy), Giuseppe Signori (Italy), Paul Gascoigne (England), Roberto Mancini (Italy), Diego Simeone (Argentina)

Reuters

 

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Italy prosecutor poised to issue charges



A report by the football federation's investigator is reported to have aimed the heaviest criticism at Juventus, nicknamed the Old Lady and champions 29 times.

Newspapers speculated the club could be demoted to Serie C1 -- Italy's third division -- and be stripped of the Serie A titles they won in the last two seasons.

Milan also risk sanctions after the publication of phone taps in which Leonardo Meani, a member of the club's management, spoke to the official assigning match officials in April 2005 complaining about a linesman after Milan lost to Siena.

Milan's president, former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, said his team was innocent and deserved to inherit the last two Serie A titles by virtue of finishing runner-up to Juventus.

"Milan has been defrauded," Berlusconi said on Wednesday.

"When the team that finished first cheats, it's only fair that the second-place side wins. And I'm not at all scared."

Palazzi was expected to issue indictments for "sporting fraud" and "violation of fairness and probity".

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 second charge 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 the FIGC has promised will end by July 27, in time for the FIGC to tell UEFA which teams will compete in next season's Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions.

In the previous major scandal to hit Italian soccer, AC Milan and Lazio were relegated for match-fixing in 1980 and several players were banned.

Doping scandals have regularly hit the Giro d'Italia cycling race but none have had the sweep of the current imbroglio.

Reuters

 

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Galliani quits as Lega chief


Adriano Galliani has quit as President of the Italian Football League after he was one of 30 subjects indicted on Calciopoli charges.

Although the Milan official has denied any wrongdoing, he has this evening resigned as President of the Lega Calcio.

The FIGC prosecution team did indict four clubs – Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio – this evening, as well announcing that 30 “subjects” would also face a sporting tribunal.

The names of those people have now been revealed and Galliani is joined by more high profile figures of the game which include officials from both clubs and the FIGC.

A number of referees are also on the list which reads as follows: Luciano Moggi, Antonio Giraudo, Adriano Galliani, Leonardo Meani, Andrea Della Valle, Diego Della Valle, Sandro Mencucci, Claudio Lotito, Cosimo Maria Ferri, Franco Carraro, Innocenzo Mazzini, Tullio Lanese, Paolo Bergamo, Pierluigi Pairetto, Gennaro Mazzei, Pietro Ingargiola, Paolo Bertini, Massimo De Santis, Paolo Dondarini, Fabrizio Babini, Domenico Messina, Gianluca Paparesta, Gianluca Rocchi, Pasquale Rodomonti, Paolo Tagliavento, Claudio Puglisi.

Channel4

 

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Juventus face relegation in scandal



ROME (Reuters) - Champions Juventus face almost certain relegation as a result of Italy's match-fixing scandal while AC Milan may receive lighter punishment, media said on Friday.

The Football Federation's (FIGC) prosecutor charged Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio, as well as 26 individuals including officials of the clubs and the federation itself, eight referees and two linesmen.

They were all ordered to appear before a sports tribunal in a trial starting on June 29 in Rome's Olympic Stadium.

The FIGC issued its ruling after Italy secured a place in the second round of the World Cup by beating the Czech Republic 2-0. The combination, as one television commentator put it, was "heaven in Germany and hell in Rome".

Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who plays for Juventus, said the charges would not hurt the national side's chances.

"(The scandal) has not left any mark on us, there is nothing official, no sentence and every one of us is thinking exclusively about the World Cup," he said.

Thirteen of Italy's 23-man squad at the World Cup play for the four clubs facing charges.

Former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, former Juventus CEO Antonio Giraudo and Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani were among those charged, their clubs said.

INFLUENCE APPOINTMENTS

La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper said the charge that Moggi sought to influence refereeing appointments to benefit Juventus left the Turin giants in an extremely perilous position.

"It is a terrible accusation, something that could send the club down to Serie C," the paper said.

Moggi will seek to be exempted from the trial on the grounds that he quit as Juve's general manager on May 14, his lawyer Paolo Trofino said.

Moggi refused to speak to the FIGC's investigators, and his lawyers cite the case of a former Sampdoria official Emiliano Salvarezza, whose refusal to appear in front of a sports justice trial in 2001 was upheld by a civil court.

Juventus, 29 times champion of Italy, said late on Thursday it would study the charges and reserved the right to defend itself. But unlike AC Milan and Lazio, it did not reject the accusations.

The two main charges -- sporting fraud and violating fairness and probity -- can be punished by fines, bans and relegations.

The verdicts will be delivered between July 7 and 9 -- the latter being the day of the World Cup final.

Juventus shares, which have lost about half their value since the scandal broke in early May, initially bounced higher on short-covering on the Milan bourse. But by 1350 GMT (2:50 p.m. British Time) they were down 0.91 percent at 1.31 euros.

'SPORTING FRAUD'

According to media which obtained the prosecutor's charge sheet, all four clubs were accused of "sporting fraud".

Moggi and Giraudo face charges of sporting fraud and also of breaking rules governing fairness in the sport, Juventus said.

Galliani -- who quit as president of the Italian Football League shortly after the charges were announced but said he did nothing wrong -- faces a single charge of violating fairness and probity, AC Milan said. Media said that put him in a slightly better position.

The sporting fraud charge against Milan, European champions six times, was based on a single Serie A match against Chievo in April 2005, Milan said.

Juventus have been at the heart of the scandal since it began early last month with the publication of intercepted telephone conversations between Moggi and senior FIGC officials discussing refereeing appointments for matches during the 2004-05 season.

The eight referees who were charged included Massimo De Santis, who was the FIGC's proposed referee for the World Cup until he was withdrawn after the scandal broke.

"I don't think I've ever committed any crimes on the field of play," De Santis told reporters on Friday.

Besides the FIGC trial, prosecutors in four cities are conducting investigations that could lead to criminal charges.

Reuters

 

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Juventus described as center of match-fixing 'network'



ROME -- Indictments issued in Italy's match-fixing scandal describe Serie A champion Juventus as the center of an "elaborate network" using corruption and intimidation to influence referees, news reports said Friday.

Federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi wrote in the indictments that Juventus managers created "an elaborate network of stable and protracted relationships" with federation officials aimed at influencing match results, the Corriere della Sera reported.

Federation vice president Giancarlo Abete, who is heading Italy's World Cup delegation, said from Germany that he didn't think the indictments would affect the national team's performance on the field.

"Our focus is on the World Cup, and one thing doesn't have to do with the other," Abete said. "And the decisions should be handed out after the World Cup is done."

Investigators allege that Juventus' former general manager Luciano Moggi and chief executive Antonio Giraudo ran the system, conspiring to have certain compliant referees assigned to the team's games. The pair, while denying any wrongdoing, resigned along with the entire Juventus board in May.

Prosecutors in Naples, Rome, Parma and Turin are conducting separate criminal probes into fraud, illegal betting and false bookkeeping -- but it could be months before any criminal indictments are laid.

Corriere quoted the federation indictments as saying that perks for the referees ranged from favorable reviews in the media to large discounts on Fiat cars, the auto company that the Agnelli family owns along with Juventus.

The indictment accuses Moggi of getting referee Massimo De Santis in 2004 to give yellow cards to Bologna players so they would be suspended for the next match against Juventus, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport.

De Santis, whose World Cup accreditation was rescinded due to the scandal, is among those charged Thursday. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Juventus faces relegation to Serie B or lower. Agnelli investment company IFIL, which controls Juventus, said in a statement it would "verify" whether the charges were supported by "concrete proof."

Palazzi wrote in the indictments that Lazio and Fiorentina officials also attempted to influence refereeing appointments through Moggi and Franco Carraro, the ex-federation president who stepped down in the wake of the scandal, Corriere said.

Lazio and Fiorentina face demotion, and Carraro is among the 26 to be tried by the sports tribunal.

Milan is implicated to a lesser degree over referee assignments, but could be spared demotion and instead start next season with a points reduction, Corriere said.

Italian league president and Milan vice president Adriano Galliani has reportedly been charged with disloyalty and not the more serious match-fixing. Galliani quit as league president late Thursday.

Milan lawyer Leonardo Cantamessa told Italian TV on Friday that Galliani's involvement was a "huge misunderstanding" and was in any case "modest" compared to other officials charged with match-fixing.

Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister, has said he doesn't expect his team to be penalized. He also believes Milan will be given the last two Serie A titles, which were won by Juventus.

Associated Press

 

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Juventus, 24 soccer officials to stand trial in Rome




ROME -- Juventus said Friday two of its former officials will face a sports court for influencing referees, joining the Serie A champion, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio on trial in Italy's soccer scandal.

The clubs face possible demotion from the Serie A or points penalties for next season.

According to Juventus' official website, former general manager Luciano Moggi and chief executive Antonio Giraudo are accused of "behavior contrary to the principles of loyalty, honesty and fairness."

Twenty-four other soccer officials will also stand trial at Rome's Olympic stadium, starting Thursday.

Moggi's lawyer, Paolo Trofino, declined to comment on behalf of his client.

Federation vice president Giancarlo Abete, who is heading Italy's World Cup delegation, said that any penalties must be "appropriate."

"It's only fair that those who made mistakes pay," he said.

De Santis, whose World Cup accreditation was rescinded due to the scandal, is among the 26 to stand trial before the sports tribunal.

"These accusations don't apply to me. I expect justice, true justice," De Santis said Friday in front of the federation headquarters where he and his lawyer met with officials. "If I have done something wrong, I can only have done so on the playing field. But with respect to the games under investigation, it doesn't seem that I did."

Associated Press

 

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Milan claim innocence, Juve at risk in scandal




ROME (Reuters) - Top football teams, officials and referees charged in Italy's match-fixing scandal declared their innocence on Friday ahead of a sports trial that may lead to the relegation of champions Juventus.

"Milan has absolutely nothing to do with this scandal, from either a penal or moral standpoint," said former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is Milan's owner and president.

Milan's website said the team had signed a new five-year contract with Brazil midfielder Kaka in what it called a vote of confidence in the future by a club "that has nothing to hide."

Galliani quit as president of the Italian Football League shortly after the charges were announced but said he did nothing wrong. He faces a single charge of violating fairness and probity, AC Milan said.

"He's the most honest and open person I've ever worked with," Berlusconi said of Galliani.

The sporting fraud charge against Milan, European champions six times, was based on a single Serie A match against Chievo in April 2005, Milan said.

Berlusconi said the fact Milan finished behind Juventus in each of the past two seasons showed his team received no favours from referees. "It looks as though we had a system for losing," he said sarcastically.

Lazio also issued a statement, saying both the team and its president, Claudio Lotito, had nothing to fear from the charges.

La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper said the charge that Moggi sought to influence refereeing appointments to benefit Juventus left the Turin giants in an extremely perilous position.

"It is a terrible accusation, something that could send the club down to Serie C," the paper said.

Reuters

 

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Who is charged with what in Italy soccer scandal



ROME, June 23 (Reuters) - The following 26 soccer officials face charges in the Serie A match-fixing scandal, sources close to the clubs that have been charged told Reuters on Friday.


JUVENTUS

LUCIANO MOGGI - Former general manager of Juventus. Part of the so-called "Triad" - the others being former chief executive Antonio Giraudo and former vice-president Roberto Bettega - that ran Juventus for 12 years. He quit last month.

ANTONIO GIRAUDO - Former chief executive of Juventus. Also features prominently in the phone taps. Also under investigation by magistrates in Turin on suspicion of "false accounting" in relation to Juventus's transfer activities.

- - - -

AC MILAN

ADRIANO GALLIANI - Vice-president of AC Milan and former president of the Italian Football League, the organization that looks after the interests of clubs in Italy's top two divisions. His dual role had led to accusations of a conflict of interests.

LEONARDO MEANI - A member of Milan's management. Newspapers published phone taps in which he spoke to the official assigning linesmen in April 2005, complaining about a linesman he selected after Milan lost to Siena.

- - - -

FIORENTINA

DIEGO DELLA VALLE and ANDREA DELLA VALLE - Diego Della Valle is the owner of Fiorentina. His brother Andrea is the club's president. In the phone taps the brothers complain about refereeing decisions with Moggi and FIGC official Paolo Bergamo in the 2004-05 season when the club risked relegation.

SANDRO MENCUCCI - Director general of Fiorentina. In phone taps dating from the end of the 2004-05 season he tells Bergamo and Innocenzo Mazzini (see both below) that Diego Della Valle will not continue to promote the interests of Serie A's smaller clubs in return for favours from referees.

- - - -

LAZIO

CLAUDIO LOTITO - President of Lazio and its biggest shareholder. In the phone taps he tells former FIGC vice-president Innocenzo Mazzini that Diego Della Valle has made him "a bandit's offer" in relation to their game against Fiorentina at the end of the 2004-05 season. Lotito is also under investigation by magistrates in Milan on suspicion of market-rigging involving Lazio shares.

- - - -

ITALIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION (FIGC)

FRANCO CARRARO - Former FIGC president. Carraro resigned on May 8. He was questioned by magistrates on suspicion of knowing about the manipulation of refereeing appointments but doing nothing to stop it.

INNOCENZO MAZZINI - Former vice-president of the FIGC. Resigned on May 11. In intercepted telephone conversations with Moggi he makes disparaging references to Carraro and discusses which Juventus delegate will be attending a meeting on refereeing appointments.

COSIMO MARIA FERRI - A member of the FIGC's commission for economic disputes. Charged with knowing about the manipulation of refereeing appointments in relation to Lazio matches but doing nothing to stop it.

PIERLUIGI PAIRETTO - The FIGC official in charge of assigning referees to Serie A games during the 2004-05 season and a former member of UEFA's refereeing commission. In the phone taps he tells Moggi the name of the referee for Juventus's Champions League match against Ajax Amsterdam in September 2004 two weeks before the game. UEFA rules state the name of a referee is to be communicated only 48 hours before the match.

PAOLO BERGAMO - A former FIGC official. Worked with Pairetto during the 2004-05 season, assigning referees for Serie A games.

TULLIO LANESE - Former president of the Italian Referees Association. Investigated by FIGC magistrates on suspicion of knowing about Moggi's manipulation of referees but doing nothing to stop it.

GENNARO MAZZEI - A former FIGC official in charge of assigning linesmen to Serie A matches.

PIETRO INGARGIOLA - Former observer for the Italian Referees Association. In phone taps he claimed to have been present when Moggi and Giraudo locked referee Gianluca Paparesta in his dressing room following Juventus's 2-1 defeat by Reggina in November 2004. Ingargiola did not report the incident.

- - - -

REFEREES

MASSIMO DE SANTIS - Italian referee. De Santis was the FIGC's proposed referee for the World Cup, but was withdrawn, along with two linesmen, after he was drawn into the match-fixing investigation.

PAOLO BERTINI - Serie A referee

PAOLO DONDARINI - Serie A referee

DOMENICO MESSINA - Serie A referee

GIANLUCA PAPARESTA - Serie A referee (see above)

GIANLUCA ROCCHI - Serie A referee

PASQUALE RODOMONTI - Serie A referee

PAOLO TAGLIVENTO - Serie A referee

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LINESMEN

FABRIZIO BABINI and CLAUDIO PUGLISI - Leonardo Meani asked Gennaro Mazzei for Babini and Puglisi to be assigned to Milan's match against Chievo Verona in April 2005. Puglisi was a noted Milan fan. Meani got his wish and his team beat Chievo 1-0.

Reuters

 

[ReBeL]

Buffon says scandal won't affect Italy



DUISBURG, Germany, June 23 (Reuters) - Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said the fact that his club Juventus, along with three other top Serie A teams, face charges in a match-fixing scandal won't affect Italy's World Cup chances.

"We know that something is happening but of course we have to wait for the sentences, it is a waste of time talking about it now," Buffon told reporters on Friday.

Italy meet Australia in the second round on Monday after securing top spot in Group E with Thursday's 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic and Buffon says the players are focused purely on the World Cup.

"(The scandal) has not left any mark on us, there is nothing official, no sentence and everyone of us is thinking exclusively about the World Cup," he said.

"The World Cup is the summit for any player and only comes along every four years, you don't want to let it be ruined by other things," added the Italy keeper.

The head of Italy's World Cup delegation, Football Federation vice-president Giancarlo Abete, said that the players had proven they can keep the scandal out of their minds.

"The players arrived at their pre-World Cup camp on May 22 knowing that there was a complex situation under way and they have responded very positively," he told reporters.

"Not one player or coach has been charged. The problem affects all of (Italian) football but the players and coaches are not involved," he added.

"The team finished top of its group and is in the second round -- now they have to confront a knockout tie so I don't except it will be difficult for them to concentrate," said Abete.

Reuters

 

[ReBeL]

Viola: We're not worried



Fiorentina patron Diego Della Valle insists he’s not worried after the club was indicted in the Calciopoli trial.

The Stadio Artemio Franchi side was, along with Juventus, Milan, Lazio and 26 individuals, charged by investigators for the trial that starts next week.

“We are relaxed, ready to rebuff the accusations aimed at us and, after reading the legal papers, more confident than ever,” explained Della Valle in a Press Conference today. “We’re not afraid of conflict and if anything are happy to have this opportunity to explain our position.”

Not only do the Viola laugh off accusations of match fixing, they claim that they were the instigators behind the investigation into alleged wrongdoing.

“Italian football has reached a crossroads and we are the architects of that. We were the ones who fought so hard to create a sport that was equal for all. Our hope is that we can emerge from this situation as quickly as possible so that football can start again on the right foot.”

Della Valle has always insisted he was ‘forced’ to accept the Moggi System to avoid relegation, as Fiorentina had allegedly been repeatedly damaged by refereeing errors during the season.

“We were hit when we tried to bring renewal to the football world. We’ll prove that we never bowed our heads, instead challenging for television pay-per-view rights and opposing the Lega Calcio structure. This is an opportunity to clean up the game that must not be missed.”

Channel 4

 

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