2006 Serie A scandal

The Serie A scandal involves major match fixing in Italy's top professional Football (soccer) league, Serie A. The scandal was uncovered in May 2006 by Italian police, implicating league champions , and powerhouses A.C. Milan, Fiorentina, and Lazio. Juventus were the champions of Serie A at the time. Juventus, Fiorentina, and Lazio, but not Milan, have been relegated (or demoted) from Serie A to Serie B, and all including Milan have also been penalised vital points in the standings ahead of the 2006-07 season. (In Italy, like most national football leagues, clubs earn points for wins and ties - the club with the most points at the end of the season is the league champion).

These are the highest profile teams to be punished in this way. Of the 23 players named to the Italy national squad that won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, 13 played for these teams at the end of the 2005-06 season. The teams have been accused of rigging games by selecting favourable referees, and players have been accused of illegally gambling on football games. The authorities in Italy and other sporting bodies have attempted to make it clear that behaviour of this kind will not be tolerated in Italy or elsewhere.

Origins

The scandal first came to light as a consequence of doping investigations at Juventus; prosecutors in Turin ordered wiretaps of Juventus, based in that city. Transcripts of recorded telephone conversations were published in Italian newspapers; they suggested that during the 2004-05 season, Luciano Moggi, general manager of Juventus, had conversations with several people in Italian football that reveal illegal match fixing, gambling, and falsifying of financial accounts.

Allegations

The investigation concerns the alleged match-fixing by several high-profile teams, including Juventus, A.C. Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio. All four are under investigation by Italian police, and thus far both Juventus and Milan have had their team headquarters searched by authorities.

Moggi's recorded conversations were with individuals including:

Pierluigi Pairetto, vice chairman of the UEFA Referees Committee: Moggi allegedly pressured him into appointing match referees who would favour Juventus.
Giuseppe Pisanu, Italian Minister of the Interior: Moggi allegedly wanted him not to postpone matches when Pope John Paul II was in ill health, in particular one match when Fiorentina would have had four players absent.
Marcello Lippi, former coach of both the Italian national football team who were successful at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and Juventus: Moggi allegedly encouraged him to select players represented by GEA World, a sports agency founded by Moggi's son Alessandro.

The Italian national team and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon are also under investigation for illegally betting on football match(es).

Massimo De Santis was to be Italy's referee representative in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but was barred by the Italian Football Federation after coming under investigation.James Eve, "Italy's elite prepare defences ahead of tribunal", Reuters, 27 June 2006. Italian referee Roberto Rosetti remained untainted by the scandal, and he was one of the 21 2006 FIFA World Cup officials.

The eruption of the scandal has also drawn attention to many potential conflicts of interest within Italian football. Adriano Galliani, the vice president and CEO of A.C. Milan, also serves as the president of Serie A.

In addition to allegations of corruption and sports fraud by owners, managers, players, referees, and league officials, "the host of Italy's most popular soccer show, Aldo Biscardi, has resigned amid allegations that he collaborated with Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi to boost the club's image on television".Jesper Kock and Kirsten Sparre, "TV host felled for his part in Juventus scandal", PlayTheGame.org, 26 May 2006.

In all, magistrates in Naples formally investigated 41 people and looked into 19 Serie A matches from the 2004-05 season and 14 Serie A matches from the 2005-06 season. Prosecutors in Turin examined Juventus chairman Antonio Giraudo over transfers, suspected falsified accounts, and tax evasion. Prosecutors in Parma still are investigating national team goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Enzo Maresca and retired players Antonio Chimenti and Mark Iuliano for suspected gambling on Serie A matches."Serie A quartet will stand trial", BBC, 23 June 2006.

Consequences

Franco Carraro resigned from the presidency of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the body responsible for selecting Italy's national team, on 8 May. Juventus' entire board of directors resigned on 11 May, Moggi resigned shortly after Juventus won the 2006 Serie A championship on 14 May. On the Borsa Italiana, Italy's stock market, Juventus shares had lost about half their 9 May value as of 19 May."Lippi meets magistrates as Juve's shares tumble", ESPNsoccernet, 19 May 2006.

The FIGC entered administration on 16 May, with Guido Rossi installed as extraordinary commissioner. At Juventus, Carlo Sant'Albano was named acting managing director on 19 May. Successively, Rossi appointed Francesco Saverio Borrelli, former Mani Pulite judge as head of the federation investigations office. He will be in charge of the inquiry related to the scandal.

Teams found guilty of match fixing have been relegated before in Italian football history, most recently in 1980 when A.C. Milan and Lazio were demoted to Serie B. Involved teams could also be found ineligible to compete in the 2006-07 season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, and the Italian Cup. Based on their final league positions, Juventus and Milan would enter the Champions League, Inter Milan and Fiorentina would enter the third qualifying round of the Champions League, and A.S. Roma, Lazio, and Chievo would be eligible for the UEFA Cup. The list of Italian participants in next season's competitions was due to UEFA on 5 June."Tax police search Juventus offices as probe goes on", ESPNsoccernet, 18 May 2006. On June 6, the FIGC officially withdrew from the 2006 Intertoto Cup, costing Palermo a place in the third round of the competition, citing the fact that the 2005-06 Serie A standings could not be confirmed by the 5 June deadline. FIFA have given FIGC an informal July 31 deadline to confirm the standings or face sanctions in the two larger European competitions.

On 4 July, the Italian Football Federation's prosecutor called for all four clubs at the centre of the match-fixing scandal to be thrown out of Serie A. Stefano Palazzi called for Juventus to drop at least two divisions (his statement read that Juventus should be sent "lower than Serie B", without a specific division stated) and for A.C. Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio to drop one. He also asked for points penalties to be imposed (6 for Juventus, 3 for A.C. Milan, and 15 for both Fiorentina and Lazio). The prosecutor also called for Juventus to be stripped of its 2005 and 2006 titles."Relegation call for Italian four", BBC, 4 July 2006.

Club punishments

Juventus:

Relegated to Serie B
30-point deduction for next season
Stripped of 2005 and 2006 titles
Out of 2006-07 UEFA Champions League

A.C. Milan:

Deducted 15 points next season
Deducted 44 points 2005/06
Out of 2006-07 UEFA Champions League

Fiorentina:

Relegated to Serie B
12-point deduction next season
Out of 2006-07 UEFA Champions League

Lazio:

Relegated to Serie B
7-point deduction next season
Out of 2006-07 UEFA Cup

Sentences

The following punishments were given to individuals:

Fabrizio Babini: 1 year ban from football.
Franco Carraro: 4½ year ban from football.
Cristobal David: Given a warning.
Massimo De Santis: 4½ year ban from football.
Paolo Dondarini: 3½ year ban from football.
Adriano Galliani: 1 year ban from football.
Antonio Giraudo: €20,000 fine and 5 year ban from football, with a further recommendation to the FIGC president that he be banned for life from membership of the FIGC at any level.
Pietro Ingargiola: Given a warning.
Tullio Lanese: 2½ year ban from football.
Claudio Lotito: €10,000 fine and 3½ year ban from football.
Gennaro Mazzei: 1 year ban from football.
Innocenzo Mazzini: 5 year ban from football.
Leonardo Meani: 3½ year ban from football.
Luciano Moggi: €50,000 fine and 5 year ban from football, with a further recommendation to the FIGC president that he be banned for life from membership of the FIGC at any level.
Pierluigi Pairetto: 2½ year ban from football.
Gianluca Paparesta: 3 month ban from football.
Claudio Puglisi: 1 year ban from football.
Andrea Della Valle: €20,000 fine and 3½ year ban from football.
Diego Della Valle: €30,000 fine and 4 year ban from football.

Further consequences

As a result of the three relegations, Messina, Lecce and Treviso remain in Serie A despite occupying the bottom three places in the 2005-06 season. Inter, Roma, Chievo and Palermo will occupy Italy's four Champions League places for season 2006-07, with the latter two starting at the third qualifying round. Livorno, and will take the UEFA Cup first round slots originally going to Roma, Lazio, and Chievo. However, it is unknown whether Empoli will be allowed to play in the UEFA Cup since the club does not have a license to play in it and it is too late to apply for one. A.C. Milan, 1 point behind Empoli after point deductions from last season, cites that A.C. Milan should be allowed to play in the UEFA Cup in Empoli's place.

References

External links

2006 in football (soccer) | Football in Italy | History of football (soccer) | Sports betting scandals

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