Updated news about the Scandal [DO NOT POST COMMENTS] (11 Viewers)

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Tribunal president Cesare Ruperto called a premature end to Tuesday's proceedings at around 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) because not all the defendants wishing to speak in defence of themselves were present, including the man at the eye of the storm, Moggi.

Juve's former general manager has not appeared at the trial since it started last Thursday, raising doubts over whether he will turn up at all.

On Wednesday the remaining defendants will speak, followed by prosecutor Stefano Palazzi, who will respond to their arguments. Lawyers representing the accused will then launch their defences.

Reuters

 

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Juventus lawyer: Serie B 'acceptable'



ROME (AP) -- A lawyer for Juventus, the Serie A powerhouse at the center of match-fixing allegations, told a sports tribunal Wednesday that demoting the club to the second division would be an "acceptable" penalty for its role in the largest soccer scandal in Italian history.

The acknowledgment came amid staunch defenses and partial admissions at an ongoing sports trial that could result in the relegation of some of the country's top clubs.

Juventus lawyer Cesare Zaccone acknowledged that former club managers had improper dealings with federation officials, but insisted that these were not attempts at match-fixing.

Asked by lead judge Cesare Ruperto what would be an appropriate penalty for those dealings, Zaccone replied: "An acceptable penalty would be the same one asked for the other clubs, meaning Serie B."

Zaccone said that telephone intercepts presented by the prosecution did not prove that the club officials were seeking to influence the results of matches but that they were only engaged in "lobbying operations" that may have been unsportsmanlike.

Giraudo's lawyer, Luigi Chiappero, told judges "the mere fact these people were meeting and speaking frequently may have been inappropriate" but was no indication that match-fixing was involved.

Other top suspects also defended themselves Wednesday.

Former soccer federation president Franco Carraro, the highest-ranking official accused in the scandal, denied accusations that he tried to influence referees on behalf of team officials.

Carraro told the court he had contacted referees only when he felt a mistake had seriously marred a match.

"I always asked them to make as few mistakes as possible and treat equally all teams and players," Carraro said.

Fiorentina owner Diego Della Valle and Lazio President Claudio Lotito acknowledged they had contacted federation officials but added that this was only to protest when they felt they were "victims" of mistakes.

"I only pointed out that Lazio had suffered some injustices and president Carraro recognized there had been some unfavorable situations," Lotito told the court.

The federation has said verdicts in the sports trial will come before Sunday's World Cup final but the pace of the trial, which opened last week, has been slow so far.

The trial continues Thursday with more statements from the defense expected.

Prosecutors in Naples, Rome, Parma and Turin are also conducting separate criminal probes into sports fraud, illegal betting and false bookkeeping -- but any indictments could take months.

Associated Press

 

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Cesare Zaccone, Juventus’ lawyer told the trial the next on Wednesday:

“You can’t talk about direct responsibility for Juventus, as Moggi has never been a legal representative of the club,”

“I also believe that Antonio Giraudo should only be considered indirectly responsible for any wrong-doing. The only issue here is the seriousness of the facts, which in my view should be largely re-evaluated.”

“The sanction requested by the prosecutor would devalue the squad by 80 per cent. As the trial continues, 79 per cent of the club’s income is in danger. Juventus do not have a single benefactor behind the side willing to invest money.”

“There were at least five different systems going on in football. One was created in Genoa, another in Florence, then in Rome which included leading figures in the Federation and another system working in Milan. All of them were opposed and conflicting. This is all that’s needed to explain why the idea of a Mafia-like total system involving everyone is impossible.”

Channel 4

 

[Stephan]

Real to fish in Juve pond
Thursday 6 July, 2006
Real Madrid have admitted that they will look to raid the Juventus squad if the Italian giants are demoted from Serie A this summer.

The Old Lady are facing the threat of relegation to a lower Division for their part in the Calciopoli scandal and the Spanish outfit are monitoring a number of their players, especially after Coach Fabio Capello left Turin for Real this week.

“Will we fish at Juventus should they be relegated? That is very probable seeing as that would force them to sell,” new Madrid director Franco Baldini told the AS newspaper.

Real have been strongly linked with the likes of Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson – a player who followed Capello from Roma to Juve.

“I will help out Pedja Mijatovic,” Baldini, who rejected a move to the Old Lady only last month, stated when asked about his duties with the outfit.

“I know the international transfer market very well and it will be my job to unearth new talents who have yet to emerge. As they will be young, they will be cheaper.”

New Real chief Ramon Calderon has insisted that the outfit will sign Milan’s Kaka, Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal and Chelsea winger Arjen Robben, targets Baldini believes in.

“What is key here is the desire of the players to come and play for Real Madrid,” continued the Italian.

Baldini, who has worked with Capello in the past with Roma, will also be reunited with former Giallorossi rebel Antonio Cassano.

“He is a great talent,” added Baldini when asked about the £3.5m January signing who has struggled to settle in Madrid so far.

“Fortunately, Capello has always managed to bring the best out of him. When the Coach left Roma, Cassano seemed to lose his balance.

“We’ll have to see in what condition we find him again.”


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Accused clubs split ranks in Italian match-fixing case



ROME (AFP) - Three top Italian clubs accused of match-fixing continued to protest their innocence after lawyers for Juventus said the Serie A champions were prepared to accept their punishment.

Juve rattled league rivals Lazio, AC Milan and Fiorentina by announcing on Wednesday they would accept relegation to the second division and a points deduction for their role in the alleged scam.

"The acceptable sanction, let's say forced but acceptable, is that proposed for the other teams ... that's to say, the second division with penalty points," Juventus lawyer Cesare Zaccone told the sports tribunal.

The prosecutor in the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) hearing has demanded Juve be dropped to the third division with the loss of six points and stripped of its last two league titles.

The other three face relegation to the second division next season, with AC Milan losing three points, and Lazio and Fiorentina 15 points each.

Arriving at the hearing in Rome's Stadio Olimpico on Thursday, Lazio lawyer Gianmichele Gentile said neither the club nor president Claudio Lotito, who faced a five-year suspension from sports duties, would change their positions.

"Juve's defence has chosen one path, but we have nothing to admit because we have done nothing," Gentile said.

The legal teams for AC Milan, owned by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, and shoe tycoon Diego Della Valle's Fiorentina, adopted a similar approach.

"This stupour has come about from a prosecutor's request that had and has nothing to do with the facts," said AC Milan lawyer Leonardo Cantamessa.

The three clubs have pushed the argument that recorded telephone conversations between club and FIGC officials were discussions about obtaining better referees, not picking those who would favoured their teams.

AFP

 

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Lazio chief pleads his innocence



It was the turn of Lazio president Claudio Lotito to plead his innocence in the Italian match-fixing trial on Thursday. Former Juventus chief executive Antonio Giraudo and Fiorentina owner Diego delle Valle argued their case on Wednesday, but Lotito's representatives went for a different tack.

"We are calling for complete acquittal, both for the club and for the president," explained Lotito's advocate Gianmichele Gentile before chief prosecutor Cesare Ruperto.

"There is no wrongdoing, Lotito didn't even have (former FIGC president Franco) Carraro's telephone number.

"We will not be doing what Juve are doing because we have nothing to admit since we are absolutely innocent," he added.

The same line is being taken by AC Milan and Fiorentina - the other two teams in the dock - who are unwilling to accept the punishment in any form.

"We are shocked by the recommendations of the federal prosecutor of sanctions which do not correspond to the facts," said Milan's advocate, Leonardo Cantamessa.

Meanwhile, Fiorentina's defence lawyer Giuseppe Morbidelli asked for his clients to be "released" in a defence file handed to the prosecutors.

Pierluigi Pairetto, the man who designated which referees officiated at which Serie A games and is alleged to have been influenced in his decision-making by former Juve general manager Luciano Moggi, also laid down his defence on Thursday.

"Only Houdini would be able to fiddle the choice of referee," joked his advocate Giorgio Merlone.

Pairetto faces a five-year ban and a fine of 5,000 euros (£3,500) if proved guilty of fixing the choice of referees.

The trial, which is due to conclude this weekend, will see a total of 26 individuals and four clubs in the dock.

Stefano Palazzi, the federal prosecutor at the trial, has recommended that Juve be relegated to at least Serie C and handed a six-point penalty, with Fiorentina, Lazio and Milan demoted to Serie B with varying point deductions.

TeamTalk

 

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Italy tribunal head hits back at critics of 'quick trial'



ROME, July 7 (Reuters) - The head of a sports tribunal investigating match-fixing in Italian football hit back on Friday at defence lawyers who protested the case was proceeding too quickly.

"Many say the defence is being compressed. But every trial has its own characteristics, including sports trials," retired judge Cesare Ruperto told the tribunal which has cast a shadow over the Italian national team's march to the World Cup final. "Nobody here is smothering the rights of the defence."

The court is aiming to wrap up its hearings later on Friday, little more than a week after it began. No witnesses are being allowed and video footage of matches is prohibited.

A defence lawyer sought to belittle the tribunal on Friday, saying it was beneath a judge of Ruperto's experience.

"Certain people have asked how a former president of the Constitutional Court could take charge of a trial in which the defence is so restricted," said Marco Rocchi, representing former Italian Football Federation official Innocenzio Mazzini.

The judges are aiming to deliver a verdict on Monday, the day after the World Cup final between Italy and France.

Any appeals must be cleared up by July 27, before a UEFA deadline for the nomination of clubs taking part in European competitions. However, officials from some of the clubs in the dock have said they will turn to civil courts if necessary.

Italy's justice minister on Friday revived suggestions that an amnesty might be suitable so as not to punish players from the hugely popular Italian national side. Others rejected the idea.

"I don't think it will happen because that would render this whole trial pointless," said Lazio lawyer Gian Michele Gentile, asked about calls for an amnesty if Italy win the World Cup.

Reuters

 

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It's fixing to be tense finish for Italian pros



MUNICH - One by one, the players step reluctantly to the microphones, sometimes asking reporters for the latest news developments. Then the stars of international football go off to a corner of the training field, trading rumors, counseling each other privately that now is not the time to be concerned with their own professional futures.

It has become a parade of hemming, hawing and sincere confusion. The only thing clear about any of this murkiness is that the events in Rome this week weigh heavily on the World Cup finalists from both Italy and France.

Italy faces France in an elegant final of deep blue heavyweights on Sunday in Berlin, a match that should test tactics, fitness and inspiration. But the backdrop is a match-fixing scandal of enormous proportion, an investigative trial just as big, and the primary target is powerful Juventus of Turin, where no fewer than eight players on these rosters have displayed their talents.

In just the past two weeks, the team's coach, Fabio Capello, quit for Real Madrid; the prosecutor in Rome, Stefano Palazzi, asked that Juventus be dropped down to the third division in the Italian League, and by extension out of the Champions League; and a club manager and former defender, Gianluca Pessotto, though reportedly uninvolved in the problems, made an apparent attempt on his own life.

Verdicts may well be reached this weekend, perhaps announced just hours before the France-Italy final on Sunday in Berlin, which would be no coincidence. Italy's law enforcers want to show they are deadly serious about cleansing the sport of corruption, and there is no better time to make that evident than before Italy's biggest national soccer match in a dozen years.

The players on Juventus are some of the greatest impact players on Italy and France - Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Mauro Camoranesi, Gianluca Zambrotta, Alessandro Del Piero, Patrick Vieira, Lilian Thuram and David Trezeguet. In addition, Alberto Gilardino, Filippo Inzaghi, Gennaro Gattusso and Alessandro Nesta are with A.C. Milan, while Angelo Peruzzi and Massimo Oddo are with Lazio. These two clubs are also involved in the Rome trial, facing judicial relegation.

The players from both Italy and France are all trying to focus on Sunday, but it is impossible to ignore the approaching storm. Each copes in his own way, and there is no reason to panic. These are all very talented, very wealthy players. As long as their names are not linked in some way directly to the scandal, they are likely to find new homes on other first division teams, somewhere.

For now, though, there is no way of knowing what happens to players under contract with the tainted teams.

"I cannot say where I will be, we will have to see how the investigation goes," Buffon said. "Buffon will be fine. If Italy wins the World Cup, we will have amnesty."

Buffon was only half kidding about that, because there is precedent for just such action. Paolo Rossi was convicted in a match-fixing scandal, then was reinstated in time to score three goals against Brazil in a victorious quarterfinal for Italy at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. All was forgiven. Rossi emerged a national hero again.

Thuram, for his part, is near the end of his career at 34 and says he feels nothing but sadness for the club and his Juventus teammates. He has noticed, however, that the crisis has galvanized the Italians. They are usually known as a mutinous bunch, always ready to carp about their coach or each other. Not here in Germany.

"I know them, of course, as teammates and now I think they are the best team in the tournament, a homogeneous group," Thuram said. "I feel they have a great solidarity. In the past, there were always problems with that team, but now they are working together."

They are clinging to the blue jerseys. For many players on Sunday, Italy or France is now their only team.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/433083p-364913c.html

 

[ReBeL]

Vieira could be out of a job next week. He plays for Juventus in Italy's Serie A, along with eight players on the Italian World Cup team. Juventus could be demoted to Serie B or C for its management's part in a match-fixing scandal. The tribunal is expected to rule by Monday. Vieira has tried to put it out of his mind.

"Of course that is difficult," he told in L'Equipe. "One thinks of it. One would like to know the future. Like all the players of Juventus, I wait."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/433084p-364914c.html

 

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Italy minister hints at amnesty for scandal clubs



ROME, July 7 (Reuters) - Italy's justice minister suggested an amnesty may be suitable for clubs named in an alleged match-fixing scandal so as not to punish players from the squad who have reached Sunday's World Cup final against France.

"The government cannot get involved in this issue," Justice Minister Clemente Mastella told the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Friday.

"But I do think the majority of fans want an amnesty. As a fan, let me say this: is it fair that (Fabio) Cannavaro and (Alessandro) Del Piero and so many others should play in the third division after everything they have done?".

Reuters

 

[ReBeL]

Italy's beautiful game is on the nose



IT IS a familiar story in Italy: the wrongdoer claims he was merely trying to defend himself against a powerful lobby. Luciano Moggi, the former Juventus manager at the centre of the country's football scandal, claims he was defending his club against its rivals, mainly AC Milan, whose owner is the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

In a Rome trial, Moggi is charged with being the mastermind of a match-fixing system. The public prosecutor has asked that Juventus be stripped of the championship titles it has won in the past two seasons and relegated to the third-grade championship. He has also requested that the other three clubs charged (Lazio, a Rome club, Fiorentina and Milan) be relegated to the Serie B. Berlusconi has claimed that Milan is the victim of a political conspiracy.

The scandal suggests Italian football was corrupted in a scramble for an ever bigger share of a magic pudding - the fabulous returns promised from the sale of television rights, the backing of sponsors and income from stockmarket quotation of clubs.

The promises proved partly illusory but this sharpened appetites as in any gold rush.

Television rights money, not negotiated collectively, went to the three major clubs (Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan), with only crumbs for the remainder.

It was felt that AC Milan, in particular, had an unfair advantage as Berlusconi owned one of the three bidders through his TV network Mediaset, which competed with SKY and RAI, the state network.

Juventus and Lazio were quoted on the stock exchange but apparently without giving themselves an adequate management structure. This led to an influx of capital which, in the case of Lazio, did not prevent it sinking into debt. However the Government, conscious that football fans are voters, was indulgent about club debts - for instance, it allowed Lazio

23 years for repayment.

The impression was that the only rule regarding football was that there were no rules.

As in Hollywood, the price of stars skyrocketed, threatening to wreck clubs because there was no salary cap. Moggi allegedly found it was cheaper to buy referees than football stars. He is charged with being at the centre of a system to ensure selection of friendly referees and linesmen and the complaisance of journalists who did not unmask the system. Moggi's son ran a sports management organisation which allegedly facilitated the careers only of those obedient to the system.

Football administrators are charged with turning a blind eye to the whole shonky system.

Moggi, his offsider Antonio Giraudo, Adriano Galliani, the vice-president of AC Milan and a former football league president, and the presidents of Lazio and Fiorentina are all liable to five-year suspensions and fines, as are several referees and officials.

No doubt match-fixing would encourage betting on results, but the only accusation made so far is against Gianluigi Buffon, the Juventus and Italy goalkeeper. His defence has been that he bet on games outside Italy and lost a lot of money in the process. He is not involved in the present trial.

For years there has been suspicion of corruption but transcripts of telephone tapping were needed before action was taken.

Big money has corrupted football but a rushed trial could compound the problem.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/football...-is-on-the-nose/2006/07/07/1152240487005.html

 

[ReBeL]

Lawyer says Juventus duo deserve praise, not trial



ROME, July 7 (Reuters) - Former top executives of Italian soccer champions Juventus deserve praise for helping Italy reach the World Cup final rather than being put on trial for alleged match-fixing, a defence lawyer said on Friday.

At the end of hearings that have cast a shadow over the success of Italy's national team, Paolo Trofino said the case should be suspended, arguing that intercepted telephone calls on which it rests represented only a fraction of calls made by recently resigned Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi.

'The calls on which the investigation was based are approximately 40. We don't know what was in the rest...I'm asking you to suspend proceedings until we know what is in the other 99,960,' Trofino said.

He stressed the role that Moggi and ex-chief executive Antonio Giraudo played in turning the Turin club into the backbone of the current Italian national side.

'On Sunday night, when Italy play France in the World Cup final, you will see on your television screens that more than a third of the players on the pitch were employed by Moggi and Giraudo,' the lawyer said.

'You will see (Italian national coach Marcello) Lippi, who coached Juventus.'

AS Roma, another leading Italian side but which is not under investigation, said on Friday it believed a doubling of its share price in the past three weeks was due to expectations that it would now take part in the Champions League next season.

Also on Friday, the head of the tribunal hit back at defence lawyers who protested the hearings are proceeding too quickly.

'Nobody here is smothering the rights of the defence,' Cesare Ruperto said.

The hearings ran for just over a week with no time for witnesses or television footage from matches.

Reuters

 

[ReBeL]

Judges consider Italian match-fixing verdict



ROME (AFP) - A sports tribunal probing allegations of match-fixing in Italy's top football league ended with the jury retiring to consider their verdict over the weekend.

The panel of five retired judges is expected to hand down their judgement by Monday or Tuesday after a week-long sports fraud trial implicating Serie A clubs Juventus, Lazio, AC Milan and Fiorentina.

Jury president Cesare Ruperto, 81, took a swipe at criticism the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) tribunal was a kangaroo court aimed at reaching a snap decision to clarify clubs' league status before the new season.

"Someone has murmured that the sentence has been written already. If that is the case, I'd like you to give it to me because that would save us time," he said.

"Giving an amnesty to the guilty parties in this scandal if Italy wins the World Cup would be unfair and disappointing to millions of fans awaiting these sentences," news agency ANSA quoted AC Milan midfielder Rino Gattuso saying.

Moggi's lawyer Paolo Trofino on Friday reiterated demands that he could not be tried as he had resigned from the club.

He said the transcripts were worthless in light of the massive number of phone calls -- 420 to 430 per day -- made by "the man with a thousand contacts" among journalists, officials and politicians.

"In total, one could estimate at 100,000 the telephone calls made by my client during that season. And you know how many conversations the police have used to come to their conclusions? They have used 40," he said.

"His innoncence is contained in the other 99,960 phone calls that have not been put forward."

Not everyone is convinced the clubs are guilty, though.

"There is no doubt about the unhealthy links that existed between club bosses and federation officials," an observer told AFP.

"But if you consider the facts it will perhaps be difficult to prove that the course of matches was changed because everything rests on coversations that are often ambiguous."

AFP

 

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Italian glory muted by pain at home



ROME (AP) -- The news that prosecutors were asking a sports court to demote four of Italy's top teams came on the same day that the Azzurri beat Germany in the World Cup semifinal.

"It's as if our mother died on our wedding day," read the opinion piece published Wednesday -- the following day -- in La Repubblica. "At 11:30 in the morning soccer 'made in Italy' is depraved, at 11:30 at night it's a saint," the newspaper said. "Are we dirty and also good? Is that the Italian anomaly?"

Italy's parallel soccer failures and successes -- the latter have propelled it into Sunday's final against France -- have prompted Italians to analyze the national character: Cowardly and corrupt? Or creative, brave and resourceful?

The answer, probably, is a bit of both.

"We are what we are," said Gianluca Nicoletti, media analyst and social commentator for Turin-based daily La Stampa, on Friday. "We are a people capable of the most heroic gestures and of the worst acts of cowardice. We are Italians. We are those who win the World Cup and those who create a distorted system to feed the dreams of the common people."

Italy on Tuesday advanced to the final in Berlin with two goals in the last two minutes of the game. It came as a scandal tore apart the national sport back home.

"There is a dichotomy between the joy of the World Cup and the nausea and disgrace brought on by this scandal." said Giovanni Palmeri, a 44-year-old lawyer in Rome.

"I'm a Juventus fan, and we're perplexed and split because we're so happy with the players who have done so well, but the management of soccer has failed us completely," Palmeri added. "So, it's important for us to make a distinction there."

At the World Cup in Germany, Italy's players have kept mostly silent about the probe.

"Yes, the confusion of the past two months has given us all the desire to respond in an appropriate way," coach Marcello Lippi said earlier this week. "It's brought this group of guys together. We wanted to show what Italian soccer really means."

Fans say winning the World Cup won't cleanse the sport. After all, corruption scandals in Italy are routine.

"The scandal has been an inspiration, something to overcome," said 30-year-old Rome lawyer Matteo Falcione. "But winning the World Cup won't change anything for Italian soccer. There will be another scandal -- things stop and start again all the time.

Pierluigi Berrardi, a 60-year-old policeman, agreed: "There's too much money involved. And when there's money, there's interest and temptation."

Associated Press

 

[ReBeL]

Serie A sale



For the majority of the players involved in Sunday's World Cup final it will be the crowning moment of their career.

But from Monday many of them face an uncertain future.

Next week the results of the Italian match-fixing scandal are expected - and for 16 of the players in Berlin that could spell trouble

Juventus coach Fabio Capello has already jumped ship for Real Madrid and their keeper Gianluigi Buffon admitted he is likely to be on his way.

If the punishments are enforced it could see some of the biggest names in football on the move - including 13 of the Italian squad and three of France's stars.

Giancarlo Galavotti of Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport said: "There will definitely be players leaving.

"Capello has already taken advantage of contract clauses.

"If the players find that their club has been relegated through no responsibility of their own it is only right.

"It may be that some players have a clause that frees them in case of relegation.

"The players are only in their full right to move to other clubs - so the clubs will have to sell.

"Being in Serie B, albeit for one season or two, does not bring the same financial benefits of being in Serie A.

"So it does not make a lot of sense to keep the big stars although that would be the way to try to secure a quick return."

Italian football agent Andrea D'Amico, who represents Gennaro Gattuso of AC Milan and Juventus' Alessandro del Piero, told BBC Sport that the punishments will determine who goes and who stays.

"It is very hard to say because it depends on club-to-club what happens," he said.

"If Milan get relegated to Serie B it may be a problem to try to keep all the players. Or maybe some of them wish to stay and some wish to go.

"I think for Gattuso it is not a problem. He has a long contract with the club but it is hard to say - in three or four days maybe everything will change. We must wait and see."

Spare a thought for 38-year-old Milan star Paolo Maldini, who could face the choice of spending the final season of his career in Serie B or leave his only club after 22 years.

But where will the other players go?

It seems there is not enough room, never mind money, in Italy for all of them.

Galavotti added: "We only have Inter Milan in Italy who can buy players and they could only afford maybe a couple of players.

"The others will have to consider what is more convenient for them - whether to try and get back in Serie A quickly or go abroad."

Premiership big-spenders like Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, along with La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, are sure to be monitoring the situation, ready to swoop like vultures to pick up some easy prey.

Galavotti said: "Capello going to Real Madrid will probably be the one who decides to bring Zambrotta or Cannavaro with him.

"But players such as Cannavaro, Nesta and Zambrotta will also see clubs like Chelsea, who have the desire to win the Champions League next season, as ideal material."

bbc.co.uk

 

[ReBeL]

Juventus fans face bitter-sweet World Cup final



ROME, July 8 (Reuters) - Juventus fans face a bitter-sweet World Cup final on Sunday, cheering on their club heroes in the Italy team yet dreading banishment of their team to the lower reaches of Italian football early next week.

"Even if Italy win tomorrow night, we won't be able to enjoy it 100 percent," said Enzo Catalano, president of a Juventus fan club in the town of Benevento, near Naples.

Like millions of fans of the Turin team spread across Italy, Catalano is angry at what he calls unfair treatment for Juventus by a sporting tribunal investigating alleged match-fixing.

"They want to punish Juventus more than all others, just because Juventus is Juventus" he said.

Juventus have been Serie A champions for the last two years and are the country's most successful and popular club team.

At least four Juve players are expected to start for Italy in the World Cup final against France in Berlin. Two others are set to play for France.

Many Juventus fans are pinning their hopes on Italy beating France on Sunday, and not just because of their patriotism.

The euphoria of victory might soften the hearts of the tribunal's members, they say.

"It will be influenced by how the World Cup finishes. We Italians are made that way," said 51-year-old Sandro Cialli in Rome. "If Italy win on Sunday then Juventus won't be sent lower than the second division."

He recalled how Italians protested when striker Paolo Rossi was included in the 1982 World Cup squad, after a shortened ban for his role in a corruption scandal. But Rossi returned a national hero after helping the team to victory.

Most Juventus fans are resigned to relegation. They hope it will be only to the second division, something a club lawyer last week suggested would be an acceptable punishment.

"The season after a World Cup is always a bit of an anti-climax anyway," said Giulio, a Juventus fan on the island of Sicily who asked not to have his surname published.

"But don't forget, Juventus is one of the great European clubs. We will be back."

Reuters

 

[ReBeL]

Old Lady’s final stand



Juventus are currently going through the toughest spell in their history, yet they could have as many as eight players on the pitch in the World Cup Final.

The Calciopoli trial is set to reach its conclusion on July 10, which is just one day after Italy and France take to the field in the World Cup Final. Juventus’ role in the match-fixing scandal is likely to result in at least a demotion to Serie B, although there is still the possibility of stripped titles, points deduction and even a stint in the third-tier of Italian football. For eight players who will be present in Berlin for the Final, that could mean the possibility of becoming a World Cup winner and a Serie C1 player all in the space of 24 hours.

Despite being let down by certain officials at their club, the Bianconeri stars likely to be on show in the biggest game on earth have not followed suit – they have been a credit to their respective countries. In Gigi Buffon, Italy are once again in possession of the No 1 ‘keeper in world football. He might have slipped up for the Old Lady in recent times, but his form in the Azzurri jersey has been nothing short of stunning, making 21 saves thus far and keeping out everything that opposition attackers have thrown at him.

Then again, I’d probably back myself to do a decent job between the sticks if I was being protected by Fabio Cannavaro. Unbelievably written off by Inter two years ago, the former Parma stopper has shown that there is still no one better at defending than the Italians. His heroic performances have been as crucial to La Nazionale’s success as anyone and, barring a nightmare in the Final, he is surely a shoo-in for the Golden Ball.

Cannavaro was joined on the nominations list for the prestigious award by his central-defensive partner at the Stadio Delle Alpi, Lilian Thuram. It was in the 1998 tournament in his homeland that Thuram announced himself as a world-class player, although Serie A fans would have seen his talent before that while he was at Parma, playing alongside – you guessed it – Cannavaro.

Making up the defensive connection is Gianluca Zambrotta who, along with former Bianconeri target William Gallas, must be the most versatile player in world football. His performances on either flank have been commendable, culminating in an awesome quarter-final display against the Ukraine. For years we have known that he has been one of the best full-backs due to his domestic performances, but now he has shown what he can do to the widest possible audience.

If Zambrotta has been busy forging a reputation, then Patrick Vieira has been forced to rebuild his after a disappointing first season in Turin. Such were the expectations that he set for himself at Arsenal, a mid-season slump in form resulted in every man and his dog writing off ‘La Grande Saucisse’. You should do so at your peril though, as the World Cup has truly brought out the best in him. What a pity that it hasn’t for David Trezeguet after such a prolific campaign in front of goal. He may have barely featured for Les Bleus, but let us not forget the role he played in Italy’s demise in the Euro 2000 Final. All he needs is one chance.

Trezeguet’s strike partner in black and white is Alex Del Piero, the man who was vilified after his horror show in Rotterdam six years ago. He went some way to making up for his vital misses that day with the clincher against Germany on Tuesday and, having become Juve’s all-time leading scorer earlier in the campaign, he’ll be wanting to add to that accolade with a Final strike. Making up the current Turin contingent is Mauro Camoranesi. Often criticised for his Argentine roots, there’s no doubt that the pony-tailed winger has played his part in the route to the Final with some impressive showings.

But it doesn’t end there. Let us not forget that Azzurri boss Marcello Lippi was one of the Bianconeri’s most successful Coaches ever in his two spells at the Delle Alpi – although his record in Champions League Finals is worrying for the tifosi, with just one win in four attempts. Zinedine Zidane was part of two of those losses as well though, while Thierry Henry’s big moment for Juventus came in a European Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United. And if Luciano Moggi had his way last term then Willy Sagnol could have been playing for the club – ensuring that the Old Lady’s entire defence would have been on show in the Final.

So for all the talk of Calciopoli, Moggi and Serie C1, there’s still a few bright spots for the troubled Turin club. And who knows, some good performances from their players in the biggest shop window of them all could help add a few more zeros on to their transfer fees once the almost inevitable does happen…

Channel 4

 

[ReBeL]

Breaking News

Mediaset freezes football TV rights payments


In an unsourced report, the newspaper said Berlusconi told the league that Mediaset is rethinking its three-year contract, signed last year, because of the possible relegation of major clubs.

Mediaset is due to pay 61.5 mln eur per season for the Serie A rights, but believes the product it is buying would not be the same without Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio in Serie A, it said.

A sporting tribunal is due to rule in the next days on allegations that these clubs were involved in match-rigging, and a tribunal prosecutor has called for relegation of the clubs from Serie A.

The next season's payment was due to be made early this month, it said.

Mediaset has asked to meet the league's leaders, while the newspaper said the league is opposed to renegotiating the rights.

http://www.sharewatch.com/story.php?storynumber=155522

 

[ReBeL]

Italy’s victors await verdict at home



Juventus may have won the World Cup, fielding eight French and Italian players in Sunday’s final, but the Turin club was still not free to celebrate on Monday.

Italy’s jubilant team was meeting Romano Prodi, the prime minister, and being feted in Rome on Monday night but a special sports tribunal had still not delivered its verdict in a match-fixing scandal that could see Juventus sent down more than one division and into financial ruin.

Italy’s players also won widespread acclaim for putting the troubles at home behind them. In fact Gennaro Gattuso, a crucial part of the team who is normally seen marauding around the AC Milan midfield like a wounded bear, even said the scandal helped: “I am convinced that had the football scandal not happened in Italy we wouldn’t be world champions,” he said.

Investigators are asking that AC Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio are thrown out of Italy’s top football division for their part in alleged corruption involving the improper selection of match officials. A verdict was at first due before the final and is now expected by some lawyers involved as early as on Tuesday night or on Wednesday night.

The Financial Times

 

[ReBeL]

Corruption scandal haunts Italian masters of the universe



ROME (AFP) - The masters of the football universe will be kept waiting for a few more days before their futures are decided by a tribunal investigating Italy's match-fixing scandal, an official said.

A panel of five retired judges probing allegations compliant referees manipulated several key matches in the 2004/05 season would probably hand down its judgement on Thursday, an Italian Football Federation (FIGC) spokesman said.

"It will certainly not be today (Tuesday) and probably not tomorrow. Apparently it will arrive on Thursday," the official told AFP.

Although none of the Azzurri players are implicated, most are expected to jump ship if their clubs are kicked down to a lower division or hobbled by hefty points deductions.

Italian Justice Minister Clemente Mastella has demanded "the judges calmly take account of the victory" in their ruling.

"The court should come to its decision taking account of a system that, despite its negative side, made Italy win," said the minister whose UDEUR party is close to the Forza Italia opposition lead by AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi.

"The players are the sons of this system, our football is the expression of what existed," Mastella said.

However, the centre-left government parties remain opposed to clemency, with Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri on Tuesday declaring that "any link between the Azzurri's success and sporting justice would be unwelcome".

Defence lawyers have criticised last week's trial as a kangaroo court aimed at making a quick decision to settle Italian league standings in time for the new season.

European governing body UEFA on Tuesday set the Italian federation a deadline of July 25 for nominating clubs in next season's European competitions.

AFP