Updated news about the Scandal [DO NOT POST COMMENTS] (27 Viewers)

[ReBeL]

Ibrahimovic: Juventus probe won't affect WC




STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said a widespread Italian soccer scandal that may relegate his club team to a lower league should not affect his preparation for the World Cup.

"I have to concentrate on the World Cup now. That is what you have longed for ever since we qualified for it," the Juventus forward said Tuesday on the island of Gotland, where Sweden is holding a weeklong training camp. "Now I have to prepare in the best way possible, and then we will address that question again later."

Italy's wide-ranging soccer scandal involves allegations of match-fixing, illegal betting and manipulation of referee assignments. Juventus' former general manager, Luciano Moggi, is at the center of the allegations. Italy's financial police on Thursday searched the headquarters of Juventus, as well as the homes of Moggi, Ibrahimovic and Fabio Cannavaro, another player.

Police maintain neither player are suspected of any wrongdoing, and Ibrahimovic said the probes have not affected him or his teammates.

"It has not entered the locker room. It has affected the people who work in the club," he said.

Sweden coach Lars Lagerback also said he expects his star striker to put the scandal behind him until after the World Cup is over.

"I don't think it bothers Zlatan," Lagerback said. "My hopes are that he puts this aside."

Ibrahimovic was criticized both by Italian and Swedish media for going through several scoring droughts this season, when he netted seven goals in Serie A. He scored 16 goals in his first season for Juventus, which won the league title both years.

Ibrahimovic said his scoring slump may have been caused by weight problems.

"I had a period where gained a few kilos," he said. "I felt heavy and couldn't make it through entire games. But I should not blame that."

Asked why he gained weight, Ibrahimovic laughed and said: "I don't know. I ate too much pasta."

Sweden will play friendlies against Finland and Chile before traveling to Germany, where it will face Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay and England in Group B of the World Cup.

Ibrahimovic is expected to spearhead the Swedish attack along side FC Barcelona's Henrik Larsson. That duo and Arsenal midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg scored 20 of Sweden's 30 goals in qualifying.

Associated Press

 

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[ReBeL]

No inquiries yet with Malta over Buffon betting connection



No inquiries have yet been made with the Lotteries and Gaming Authority over the scandal that has rocked Juventus FC and the rest of the Italian Serie A league over match-fixing.

Malta is the host of one of the online gaming sites through which Juventus and Italian national goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon placed millions on bets on championship football games.

LGA chief executive Mario Galea said Italian authorities had made no contact yet with the authority over the betting transactions. He pointed out that the internet site, Bet Class, was one of the several hundreds which were blacklisted by the Italian authorities following a budget measure to prohibit Italian gamers from using foreign internet gaming sites.

“The blackout meant that nobody in Italy was supposed to be using that website. For the time being, no contacts have been made with us,” Galea said.

Italy’s first-choice keeper Gianluigi Buffon has already been questioned by Turin magistrates after he voluntarily approached the authorities to be questioned over alleged bets in which his money was used.

In a statement by Bet Class Ltd, lawyer Marco Ripamonti said the gaming company will give out the list of the professional footballers amongst its users, adding that from its analysis of betting records, “nothing that can be regarded as abnormal or suspicious”.

Italian investigators are already looking into betting transactions by four football players, and will be requesting permission to view the Bet Class’s records.

Italian keeper Buffon has admitted placing bets, claiming they were limited to just foreign soccer, tennis and horses. He was identified at the end of a line of bookmakers after banking authorities referred multi-million euro transfers to the anti-money laundering authorities.

Bookmaker Paolo Pelizzoni would collect millions from Alessandro Brignoli, a storekeeper with Italian foodstuff giant Parmalat, to bet on the UK online site Eurobet. Buffon allegedly passed on some EUR2 million to Brignoli to place the bets.

When banks referred the multi-million transfers to the authorities, suspecting money laundering, it was first found that the transfers were actually clean.

For months they monitored the transactions, until they referred the case to the Italian police and the Torino magistrature. There they discovered the channels used by football players who played on Eurobet, or the Maltese gaming site Bet Class.

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2006/05/21/t14.html

 

[ReBeL]

Prosecutor picked to probe Italy scandal



ROME- A former Milan prosecutor who led the "Clean Hands" anti-corruption investigations of the early 1990s was named on Tuesday as the Italian soccer federation's chief investigator for a wide-ranging soccer scandal.

The former prosecutor, Francesco Saverio Borrelli, replaces Italo Pappa, who resigned as the scandal began unfolding this month. Borrelli's appointment was announced by the Italian soccer federation's top official, Guido Rossi.

While a chief prosecutor in Milan, Borrelli led investigations that uncovered widespread political corruption. Many analysts in Italy have drawn comparisons between this scandal and the "Clean Hands" case, calling the soccer investigation "Clean Feet" or "Soccer Bribesville."

Associated Press

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I'll be so happy if he proves that AC Milan is the guilty team again

 

[Oggy]

Italian champions Juventus have appointed Alessio Secco to work alongside coach Fabio Capello.

The Old Lady have been short of backroom staff since the entire board resigned earlier this month over match-fixing allegations.

Secco, who is Juve's new head of sporting activities, has previously worked with the club as their press officer.

Meanwhile, the enquiry into the match-fixing allegations against former Juventus officials Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo has been extended.

Officers from Italy's inland revenue have asked professional clubs and amateur sides from Serie A, B and C to check their account for anomalies.

In all 16 Serie A clubs have been asked to cooperate including: Empoli, Livorno, Palermo, Fiorentina, Ascoli, Cagliari, Sampdoria, Messina, Inter, Milan, Parma, Roma, Lazio, Siena, Reggina and Chievo, along with 17 Serie B sides and 12 Serie C clubs.

Judges involved in the case are focusing on specific transfers involving Juve between 2000 and 2005.

Deals including Zinedine Zidane's world record deal to Real Madrid are being investigated, including Enzo Maresca, Fabrizio Miccoli, Giorgio Chiellini, Edwin van der Sar, Fabian Carini and Andrea Gasbarroni's transfers.

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=389493&CPID=21&clid=128&lid=&title=Juve+appoint+Secco
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I don't know about others but I'm pissed with this news!!! This means that everyone turned back on us, and even judges are trying everything to found us guilty!!!

 

[Tifoso]

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/may23n.html

Capello given new Juve powers Tuesday 23 May, 2006

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Juventus continue their reinvention with director of sport Alessio Secco, effectively handing more power over transfer policy to Coach Fabio Capello.

“As of today, Secco will begin work along with Capello to prepare for the 2006-07 season,” announced temporary CEO Carlo Sant’Albano this evening.






Speaks highly of Capello to stay with Juve during these difficult times. I admire him for it (as he could surely easily sign somewhere else).

 

[ReBeL]

GALLIANI - I WON'T RESIGN



Adriano Galliani insists he has no intention of resigning as president of the Italian Football League.

Galliani, also vice-president of Serie A side AC Milan, has been under pressure to step down following the bugged telephone scandal that has triggered the worst crisis in Italian football for 20 years.

Italian FA president Franco Carraro stepped down shortly after the release of the telephone conversations between former Juventus general director Luciano Moggi and senior football officials discussing referee appointments, but Galliani has no intention of following in his footsteps.

"I am not handing in my resignation," said a defiant Galliani. "In this country whoever resigns is believed to be guilty and I do not feel guilty.

"I believe I have always acted well for the Lega Calcio."

http://www.sportinglife.com/footbal.../05/23/SOCCER_Ita-Galliani.html&TEAMHD=soccer

 

[ReBeL]

UEFA to contact Italian football commissar over scandal



European football's governing body UEFA want to meet with Guido Rossi the newly-installed emergency administrator of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) their director-general said.

Lars-Christer Olsson, who is attending the UEFA executive committee meeting here, said that it was important to meet as soon as possible with Rossi to see how his investigation into the scandal surrounding several of Italy's top clubs was developing.

"We have to get in touch with Rossi because there are several important decisions to take soon," said Olsson.

"For instance the confirmation of which Italian clubs will compete in Europe next season (July 27) and the delivery of the dossiers (May 31) for the candidates wishing to bid to win the right to host Euro 2012 (Italy are competing against two joint bids of Croatia and Hungary and Poland and Ukraine)."

Rossi's task is to oversee the FIGC investigation and repair Italian football's tarnished image.

Three of the clubs implicated in the scandal Juventus, AC Milan and Fiorentina have all qualified for next season's Champions League, but if they are found guilty of sporting fraud they could have points deducted, or worse still be demoted.

That means Rossi has a little more than five weeks to resolve the crisis.

AFP

 

[ReBeL]

Italian prosecutors to examine 41 Juventus transfers



ROME (AFP) - Public prosecutors in Turin have ordered the seizure of financial documents concerning the transfer of 41 players by Juventus in the latest development of the scandal embroiling Italy's top club.

Some 71 teams from the first division down through to the amateur champions have also received requests for information from the prosecutors on the buying and selling of players from and to Juventus.

Among the 41 players whose transfer details have been requested are French midfielder Zinedine Zidane, who was signed by Real Madrid from Juve in 2001 for a world record 75.1 million euros, Real Sociedad striker Darko Kovacevic, Benfica's Fabrizio Miccoli and Dutch goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar, currently with Manchester United, but signed from Juventus by Fulham.

The prosecutors, whose period of interest is from 2000-2005, are looking to find out if the club entered lesser sums for the sales of players to avoid paying more taxes.

AFP

 

[ReBeL]

Magistrates to quiz keeper Buffon



Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was due to leave the national team's headquarters on Wednesday to be questioned by magistrates in Parma.

The Juventus number one, who is not under investigation himself, is to be quizzed on alleged betting improprieties in Serie A.

Buffon voluntarily presented himself for questioning by magistrates in Turin on May 14, but will now be probed by Parma magistrate Pietro Errede.

The 28-year-old, who is set to be Italy's first choice goalkeeper in the forthcoming World Cup in Germany, has always maintained his innocence.

Buffon said: "It's true that I have bet, but only when it was legal.

"I have always respected the penal and sporting laws.

"From the day, in October 2005, in which players were no longer able to bet, I stopped."

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/060524/1/jtbw.html

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Goalie faces new questioning in scandal


ROME - Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon left Italy's World Cup squad Wednesday to face questioning in the country's wide-ranging soccer scandal.

Buffon was questioned for a little more than 1 1/2 hours at Parma's courthouse by prosecutors investigating alleged illegal betting.

Buffon's lawyer, Mario Valerio Corini, said the player wasn't under investigation. Buffon made no comment as he left the courthouse Wednesday evening.

"It was serene discussion," Corini said. "There is no investigation regarding Gigi Buffon by Parma prosecutors."

Buffon received a summons Tuesday night as he was having dinner at Italy's training camp in Coverciano, near Florence, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Associated Press

 

[ReBeL]

Juventus faces TV and sponsorship losses from possible relegation



A decision on relegation and other possible penalties against Juventus is expected in July.

"A large portion of the company''s revenues could be at risk in the event of relegation from Serie A, thus threatening the sustainability of Juventus results," said Banca IMI in a note last week.

"The company could respond by reducing wage costs, selling some of its players, or lending them to other teams," it said.

Few analysts cover Juventus, and those who do have not made detailed earnings forecasts that factor in relegation to Serie B.

One broker said that in any case the share is reacting to news on the probe rather than earnings.

Last week, Cheuvreux put a 1.59 eur value on the Juventus share on a worst case scenario, based on the loss of a variety of earnings sources and possible penalties.

Juventus shares are currently trading at around 1.0 eur - they have more than halved in value since the scandal broke.

Cheuvreux''s valuation is based on a 20 pct chance of the club being relegated and losing two years of European Champions League games, and discounting TV and sponsorship income by 40 pct.

One analyst who asked not to be named said he believes Juventus will be relegated by one league to Serie B but he does not expect relegation to take the club into the lower Serie C, although Banca IMI regards it as a possibility.

On sponsorship contracts, Banca IMI said a 20 mln eur a year shirt sponsorship deal could be withdrawn by oil company Tamoil.

However, industry sources said Tamoil's owner the Libyan government is also a 7.5 pct shareholder in Juventus itself.

Analysts said a Nike merchandising deal worth 14 mln eur a year could be cancelled if Juventus drops out of Serie A for two consecutive seasons, which would be the case if it was relegated as low as Serie C.

Also, recently announced delays in building Juventus new stadium will mean the loss of 20-25 mln eur a year expected from a major sponsor, whose name would have been given to the stadium, one analyst said.

Some TV rights contracts cannot be cancelled because of relegation, only renegotiated, and this covers the digital TV rights contract with Mediaset SpA, analysts said.

Juventus contract with News Corp unit Sky Italia for next season is worth 94.5 mln eur and does not include "any renegotiation clauses and should not be at risk," said Banca IMI.

A 10 mln eur contract for next season''s mobile phone rights with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd unit 3 Italia could be cancelled if Juventus is relegated, it said.

At the weekend, IFIL deputy-chairman John Elkann said Juventus'' sponsors have so far been supportive.

In the first nine months to March 31, Juventus reported a net profit of 8.3 mln eur, against loss of 5.7 mln a year earlier, though it said it sees a full year net loss in the absence of gains on real estate sales.

One analyst said Juventus is due to sell its stake in the Campi di Vinevo real estate project in Turin, which would lead to a 100 mln eur capital gain.

IFIL is already working on management changes, including yesterday's appointment of sporting director Alessio Secco, and plans a new board for shareholders to approve when they meet June 29.

IFIL continues to reject the possibility it will buyout minority shareholders in Juventus.

Juventus officials said the club is working on preparations for next season, based on being in Serie A, and will defend itself in the enquiry.

http://www.sharewatch.com/story.php?storynumber=122607

 

[ReBeL]

Italy's "Clean Hands" judge says he is not a soccer fan



ROME, May 24 (Reuters) - The controversial magistrate who has been called out of retirement to clean up Italian football said on Wednesday he was not a soccer fan and had been to a stadium only once in his life.

Francesco Borrelli, who headed the "Clean Hands" investigations into political corruption in the early 1990s, has agreed to conduct a Football Federation investigation into allegations of match-fixing that have shocked Italy.

"I've never had anything to do with football," the 76-year-old Borrelli told La Stampa daily. "I'm not a fan of any team."

Borrelli is a controversial choice to pick his way through the affair centred on champions Juventus and touching many of Italian soccer's biggest clubs.

As the lead prosecutor in Italy's biggest political scandal, he headed a probe which led to the arrest of hundred of business and political figures and destroyed the careers of many.

While the Clean Hands prosecutors were hailed as heroes by many normal Italians, people caught up in the affair still resent what they saw as a heavy-handed or even politically motivated crusade.

Borrelli played down comparisons between his new job and the "Clean Hands" probe.

"Making such a parallel seems a bit too easy," he said. "We are talking about widespread illegality, that's the only way I see a possible similarity with the past, but I don't want to come to any judgment in advance."

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi condemned Borrelli's appointment. Berlusconi owns AC Milan, one of four teams implicated in the soccer scandal which has inevitably been dubbed "Clean Feet".

"If he does to football what he did to politics, it will be the end of football," Berlusconi's lawyer, parliamentarian Gaetano Pecorella, was quoted as saying by Italian newspapers.

Borrelli will head the football federation's probe into the scandal which encompasses allegations of match-fixing, through shady transfer deals to illegal betting.

The key figure is the former general manager of Juventus, Luciano Moggi, known as "Lucky Luciano", who has a reputation as a backroom wheeler-dealer.

Moggi has denied all allegations, including that he used his influence to ensure sympathetic referees were appointed to key matches.


WIDESPREAD ILLEGALITY

Juventus could face relegation from Serie A if the accusations are proven.

The club is majority owned by the Agnelli family which also controls carmaker Fiat and its shares have dived from almost 2.50 euros earlier in the month to 1.20.

A federation (FIGC) official said Borrelli would examine evidence from the various investigations by public prosecutors to see what disciplinary steps might be needed.

He said there was no deadline for the investigation.

However, the new league season starts in August and might have to be delayed if there are doubts about which clubs should be relegated.

European soccer body UEFA also needs to know soon the names of the clubs who will play in next season's Champions League and UEFA Cup.

In a reaction to the scandal, Italy's antitrust watchdog issued recommendations on Tuesday calling on FIGC to open up the soccer business and abolish rules on agents which blocked competition and "favour collusive behaviour".

The watchdog said FIGC should abolish its requirement for soccer agents to be accepted on to an official list and to ban agents working with clubs where family members are employed.

One of the Clean Feet investigations is into the behaviour of a powerful sports talent agency called GEA which is run by Moggi's son Alessandro.

Reuters

 

[ReBeL]

Consob checking Italian quoted football clubs' disclosures



Earlier today, Consob president Lamberto Cardia said the regulator held hearings today with the internal and external auditors of the three companies, which include AS Roma and SS Lazio.

"We have asked to hear the chief internal auditor and the external audit firms of the three quoted football companies," he said.

The sources said Consob has asked for information from various prosecutors'' offices that are reportedly looking at allegations of false accounting, including by Juventus.

Bourse officials have also reportedly queried whether Juventus has provided sufficient information to meet disclosure required for the bourse''s Star section of the market for mid-size caps.

In the 1990s, Consob was reluctant to allow football clubs to be quoted on the bourse, and after a decision by Italy''s parliament to allow these companies to be listed it emphasised the risks to investors.

Consob has required the initial public offering prospectuses of football clubs to explain clearly the risks, while Roma and Lazio were required for a time to provide monthly financial data.

http://www.sharewatch.com/story.php?storynumber=122982

 

[ReBeL]

Italy's antitrust body seeks changes to football player/agent system



MILAN (AFX) - Italy's antitrust authority said it is calling for widespread changes to the system under which professional football players and their agents operate.

The results of a fact-finding study by the authority come amid investigations by judicial and sporting authorities into Italy's football sector, including allegations of match-rigging.

"The authority hopes that FIGC (the national football federation) will change quickly the rules on players' agents in the way proposed," the authority said.

"It is believed these changes can contribute to improving the conditions for a correct functioning of the market," it said.

In particular, the authority said agents should not represent players from clubs where the agent has other family members in key roles, it said.

In addition, agents should not represent both players and trainers, it said.

The authority identifies agent firm GEA World SpA having a leading 17.9 pct market share in the last two seasons, and GEA's Moggi Alessandro individually a 12.3 pct market share, it said.

Alessandro Moggi is son of Luciano Moggi, who quit recently as managing director of IFIL SpA unit Juventus Football Club SpA, amid allegations over his role in controlling large aspects of the game.

Other changes proposed by the authority for agents include eliminating an agents' register, less penalties for players who quit contracts with agents, and more competition between agents.

http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=5653851&subject=companies&action=article

 

[ReBeL]

Sheridan Bird's new stupid conclusions:

VILLAIN OF THE SHOW


Ex-Juventus Director General Luciano Moggi. What a naughty, naughty boy. He is accused of the following:

a) Interfering with refs in Serie A, the Champions League and junior football.
b) Telling the Italy coach to pick players represented by his son’s agency.
c) Locking a ref in his dressing room.
d) Sending secret funds to the Vatican bank for safety.
e) Telling his contacts at the anti-drug labs to falsify Juve players’ dope tests.
f) Instructing TV producers to edit and change virtual reality replays of contentious moments in Juve matches to favour the Bianconeri.
g) Killing a kitten*

* As far as we know, Moggi didn’t kill a kitten.

http://www.football365.co.uk/opinion/sheridan_bird/story_185939.shtml

 

[JCK]

As of now, any idiot who will post a comment in this thread will receive a yellow card.

 

[Romanisto]

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...id=1044529390736&call_pagepath=Sports/Cricket

AC Milan implicated in phone taps

AC Milan allegedly tried to arrange which referees would officiate its matches in the 2004-5 season, just as Juventus is accused of doing, according to new wiretaps published Thursday by Corriere della Sera.

Milan issued a statement by its lawyer denying wrongdoing and saying the phone taps were "poorly interpreted."

According to the transcripts, Milan chairman Adriano Galliani — who is also president of the Italian soccer league — apparently had club management member Leonardo Meani make arrangements with referees commission secretary Manfredi Martino.

Meani was reportedly told by Martino two days before a game against Chievo Verona that Gianluca Paparesta would officiate the match. Martino also informed Meani that the team's linesman of choice, Claudio Puglisi, was assigned to the game.

Paparesta has reportedly acknowledged being locked up in a locker-room by former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi for failing to assure the club a victory last season. Moggi is under investigation for allegedly trying to manipulate assignments of referees for Juventus games.

After a match between Siena and Milan in 2005, which Milan lost, Meani talked on the phone with the official who assigns linesmen, Gennaro Mazzei, and complained about a linesman at the game.

"I don't want him. I never asked for him and I never wanted him," Meani said, according to Corriere.

"Now you be careful, be careful," Meani said, adding that "Galliani is furious."

Before a Milan derby last year pitting AC Milan versus Inter Milan, Puglisi spoke to Meani about how "important it is for us to (beat) these Interisti," according to the transcripts.

In a statement, Milan lawyer Leandro Cantamessa said, "I've said and repeated to the point of getting sick that Milan has nothing to do with this case."

Meani, Mazzei and Puglisi were included on a list of 41 people asked two weeks ago to appear for questioning by Naples prosecutors.

Italian soccer has been embroiled in a scandal for the last few weeks, with prosecutors in Turin, Parma, Naples and Rome conducting investigations into suspected match-fixing, illegal betting and manipulation of referee assignments.

Financial police searched the offices of Cagliari, Triestina and Messina on Thursday, confiscating documents on player transfers and team budgets, the ANSA news agency reported.

The scandal is centered on Juventus, with Moggi facing the most allegations. Moggi and the entire Juventus board resigned and the team faces possible relegation just weeks after winning its record 29th Serie A title.

Lazio and Fiorentina have also been implicated.

Also Thursday, Paolo Bergamo was questioned by Naples prosecutors. Bergamo assigned referees with Pierluigi Pairetto during the 2004-5 season and Pairetto was allegedly one of Moggi's top sources for the arrangement of match officials.

"We're here to clear things up," Bergamo's lawyer, Gaetano Scalise, was quoted as saying by ANSA.

Meanwhile, Italy captain and Juventus defender Fabio Cannavaro sought to clarify comments he made Wednesday when he vehemently defended Juventus and Moggi, and said that the problems went far beyond Juve.

"It's only right that whoever committed errors pays for it," Cannavaro said at Italy's World Cup training camp in Florence.

"Now more than ever the national team has a big job. We're not just talking about how it plays on the field, but renewing our country's image internationally. We can't waste this occasion at the World Cup."

 

[ReBeL]

Juventus defender Lilian Thuram said at France's World Cup camp that his future with the club was "unclear" and that he would wait until the end of the investigations before making any decision.

Associated Press
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...soc.italyscan.ap/index.html?section=si_latest

 

[ReBeL]

AC Milan official under the spotlight



ROME (AFP) - An AC Milan official has for the first time become directly involved in a match-fixing affair in a new twist to the Italian football scandal which has been raging the past few weeks.

The Corriere della Sera newspaper on Thursday published transcripts of telephone conversations of Leonardo Meani, the only AC Milan official facing match-fixing charges by Naples prosecutors in the 2004/05 Italian championship won by Juventus.

In a taped conversation dating back to April 19 last year, Meani expressed anger at an Italian football federation official responsible for designating linesman Gennaro Mazzei for Milan's 2-1 defeat against Siena when Milan had a goal disallowed.

"Now pay attention (...) Send us Consolo, not just to Turin. Do you understand?" Meani was quoted as saying about Andrea Consolo, a linesman who has already appeared in telephone conversations as one of the officials most wanted by Juventus director general Luciano Moggi.

According to the Corriere della Sera transcription, Mazzei, also facing charges by Naples prosecutors, appears to give way under pressure from the Milan official.

This new revelation in the Italian press comes at a time of rising concern over the publication of entire pages of telephone conversations in theory protected by secrecy laws.

Later Thursday, AC Milan's lawyer hit back at the allegations.

"I have said and I repeat that Milan is a total stranger to this affair," said Leandro Cantamessa.

AC Milan are one of four teams, with Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio, being investigated by Naples prosecutors on charges of sporting fraud with 41 people placed under judicial investigation, including nine referees and 11 linesmen.

However the role each club played in the affair has not yet been worked out and only one AC Milan official is facing charges.

AC Milan owner and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has on several occasions called for the last two Italian league titles, won by Juventus, to be handed to AC Milan.

Moggi was sacked last week amid the burgeoning Italian football scandal, a complex affair which has many strands and separate investigations.

Moggi is in the spotlight after Italian papers published transcripts of phone calls intercepted in 2004 between him and Pierluigi Pairetto, head of the Italian referees' association and a member of UEFA's referees' commission.

In the conversations, Moggi tells Pairetto which referees he wants assigned to certain Juventus matches in Serie A and the Champions League.

Meanwhile, the offices of AC Milan and city rivals Inter were raided by Italy's financial police on Thursday as part of a probe into financial irregularities involving Juventus transfers.

Documents on the buying and selling of players were seized in the operations, the ANSA news agency reported.

The Turin prosecutor had ordered the seizure of papers involved in the transfers of 41 players at Juventus.

AFP

 

[ReBeL]

Italy can't escape 'Pooh'



ITALY coach Marcello Lippi wants his team to focus on the World Cup rather than the match-fixing scandal affecting Serie A, but that is proving much easier said than done.

Even the launch of a jaunty World Cup song, normally a chance for a light-hearted display of team spirit, was overshadowed by the wave of allegations overnight.

Before Italy rock group Pooh could present the new anthem for the Azzurri, team captain Fabio Cannavaro read out a statement clarifying his comments on the scandal which has rocked his club Juventus.

Cannavaro was quoted in Italy overnight as describing the telephone intercepts which have resulted in a series of investigations and resignations as "chatter" and defending Luciano Moggi, the former general manager of Juventus who is at the centre of the affair.

Under pressure from the Italian Football Federation, whose vice-president Giancarlo Abete made a public call for Cannavaro to "clear up" his statements, the defender said he had "not been clear in explaining the meaning of my thoughts".

"Those who have made mistakes should pay," Cannavaro, who expressed confidence in the judicial process, said.

"Clearing up the situation and providing new rules is the road, I believe, to restore credibility to Italian football and transmit enthusiasm to millions of fans."

Cannavaro's club and country teammate, Gianluigi Buffon, was back at the Coverciano training camp on after his trip to Parma where he spoke to magistrates investigating gambling allegations.

"Now I can really focus on the World Cup without any other thoughts on my mind," said Buffon.

"I cleared up what I had to clear up and now I feel better, like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

The Azzurri, which play in Group E at next month's World Cup along with Ghana, the Czech Republic and the United States, took part in another pre-tournament ritual, the team photo-call.

Inside the press conference hall it was not striker Luca Toni or forward Francesco Totti who faced the media but ex-player Demetrio Albertini, recently appointed as an advisor to Guido Rossi, the emergency administrator who is in charge of the Italian Football Federation.

Former Milan midfield player Albertini said one of his tasks as an advisor on the sporting side of the federation would be to "improve the image of Italian football abroad which at this moment is not very good".

Italy plays two warm-up games before the June 9 start to the World Cup with friendlies next week against Switzerland and Ukraine.

AFP

 

[ReBeL]

World Cup Uses Betting Companies to Flag Possible Match-Fixing



May 25 (Bloomberg) -- World Cup organizers said today they signed agreements with bookmakers to share information about suspicious betting during the tournament in Germany, the latest move to safeguard the soccer competition from match-fixing.

The Federation Internationale de Football Association has reacted to a slew of corruption scandals by contracting an undisclosed number of oddsmakers to pass on details of unusual bet patterns, said Urs Scherrer, chief executive of FIFA Early Warning System GmbH, a Zurich-based subsidiary of FIFA.

Match-fixing probes have shifted from soccer's fringe nations to its heartlands of Brazil, Italy and Germany in the past year, prompting FIFA to take measures to protect the monthlong World Cup starting June 9. Corruption may deter fans and companies from a sport whose showpiece got 29 billion television viewers in 2002 and 642 million euros ($820 million) in sponsorships this time, soccer officials said.

``Match-fixing is a new evil,'' FIFA President Sepp Blatter, 70, said in an interview in London this month. ``If fixing matches would become a general rule in our game, then we could just close the door.''

FIFA Early Warning System was established in January to get real-time alerts about incidents of the type European soccer's ruling body UEFA is investigating from its UEFA Cup competition in December.

Then, oddsmakers reported ``heavy betting'' on Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia leading 2-0 at halftime against Greece's Panionios, the Geneva-based UEFA said in a statement. Panionios won 5-2 after trailing 2-0 at the interval.

"Corruption threatens to undermine the very future of the game,'' said Lars-Christer Olsson, the 56-year-old chief executive of UEFA, in a Feb. 22 interview in London.

Betting scams in Asia have shown what's at stake. Siemens AG canceled its title sponsorship of China's Super League in January 2005 following allegations of rigged games, while Vietnamese crowds shrank 12 percent and the league's main sponsor pulled out because of fixing, said Tran Quoc Tuan, the Vietnam Football Federation's general secretary.

The Juventus case has touched the World Cup. Italian soccer's governing body withdrew referee Massimo De Santis from the tournament on May 13 because he is one of 24 officials under investigation for possible sports fraud.

Blatter said he's confident the World Cup will be scandal- free, not least because the consequences of cheating while playing for a national team are greater than in club soccer. He said "fans would kill'' World Cup players who took bribes. FIFA expects about 500 million viewers on average for each match.

"These betting companies will immediately send an alarm'' if they see anything suspicious, Blatter said in April. "We're betting this Early Warning System will work.''

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