Scandal hits Italian league
The protests and whistle-blowing have been going on for a long time in Italy's Serie A. Finally, thanks to an enterprising investigative team, one of the biggest corruption scandals in soccer history has been uncovered.
By tapping into telephone conversations, mostly involving Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, details were revealed as to how Moggi had influenced referee selections, player transfers, candidates for the Italian national team, and even the presentation of a popular television highlights program.
Moggi and the entire board of directors of Juventus resigned, as did the president of Federazione Italiana Gioco Calcio, the game's ruling body, plus the head of the referees' committee, and talk-show host Aldo Biscardi. Massimo De Santis, Italy's top referee, has been withdrawn from the World Cup list. And now Italy coach Marcello Lippi's status is being questioned, and national team goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and captain Fabio Cannavaro have been accused of match-fixing.
Guido Rossi, formerly in charge of CONSOB, the Italian Stock Market regulator, is heading a formal investigation of at least 50 people: 20 referees and linesmen, 12 club officials, 10 player agents, and 8 journalists.
Moggi is at the center of the investigation, allegedly having manipulated the results of key games through blackmail and bribes to referees and also attempting to influence the selection of players represented by GEA World, which is run by his son, Alessandro Moggi. GEA represents 262 players, 31 club officials, and 29 coaches in Italy.
If Moggi is convicted of ``sporting fraud," Juventus could be fined and relegated. Juve, a club founded in 1899 in the spirit of youth (Juventus) and nicknamed La Vecchia Signoria (The Old Lady) after becoming established as a cultural/sporting institution, has never been relegated and is considered a symbol of the country's post-war industrial and social advancement. Juventus is still controlled by the Agnelli family, which made its fortune through the
Just the threat of relegation has caused Juve stock to dip and its players to start looking for other teams. Juventus won its 29th ``scudetto" (Serie A title) this month, but could be forced to forfeit at least two of those championships. The potential loss of revenue could be hundreds of millions of euros, should Juve be disqualified from the Champions League and/or relegated.
Juventus celebrated the title after a 2-1 win over Reggina in a match played in Bari last week.
``It's only right that players celebrate, but it's not as if nothing has happened this week," Inter coach Roberto Mancini said. ``I too was a Juventus fan, from a boy to when I was 15. But that was a different Juventus."
Juventus long has been accused of receiving favorable decisions. So the revelations are being regarded like Pulcinella's secret -- a secret everyone already knew. The difference is, this time everything has been recorded and distributed to the media.
Many believe the changing political climate in Italy allowed these ``secrets" to finally be revealed. Last month, Silvio Berlusconi was defeated by Romano Prodi in the prime minister race, a result that indicated the country was open to change from authoritarian, business-as-usual practices. Berlusconi, also president of AC Milan, demanded his club be awarded the last two ``scudetti" after finishing second to Juventus.
Mancini has been particularly outspoken against questionable refereeing decisions, but noted, ``If I said something to the referees during the game, I would be thrown out, and if I complained to the world about the refereeing, I would be reprimanded by the federation and nobody would listen to me or help me.
``As for Moggi, it's not a mystery the fact that he would feel omnipotent and he could do prohibited things, like go to the sidelines during games or come and go to the referees' locker room before and after the games. And never be sanctioned.
``As a player and as a coach, I have always refused a certain power system which is even now becoming apparent to everyone. For this, however, I have always paid."
Others have paid even higher prices.
Enrico Mantovani, whose family controlled Sampdoria and brought the club its greatest success, said that when he stood up to Moggi, it caused Samp's downfall, eventually leading to the loss of the team under pressure from supporters.
``Some complimented me, others told me, `You don't know what you have done,' " Mantovani told La Repubblica. ``I realized too late that I had to keep a low profile."
But Mantovani said the problems of Italian soccer go beyond Juventus and Moggi.
``If someone had tried to take this before the court before, it would have made everyone laugh," Mantovani said. ``Whoever knows things should speak up. It would be a great thing for soccer, to start over. It is not right to throw everything only on Moggi & Co. You can't think of cleaning up the system by throwing out two or three people."
