[Archived] Italian Refereeing Scandal

[tchocky]

Italian football federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi asked for this penalties:

Juventus: seria C1 with 6 points deduction (for the next season, I assume), loses 2005 title and the 2006 won't be "accepted"

AC MIlan- last place in the league, seria B and 3 points deduction

Fiorentina and Lazio - Seria B and 15 points deduction.

He wants a lot of penalties for the indivuals as well.

If this happens, Inter are champions.

Sounds good to me. In fact, it sounds great. Roma might not be pushovers next season, but apart from that Inter should have a decent chance. Or did you mean they will get the 2006 scudetto?

[Oklahoma]

I guess the 2006 title will be to Inter.

And maybe the 2005 too.

But it is not for sure.

That's what the prosecutor wants.

[philipl]

Capello leaves Juve:

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/SPORT/football...ello/index.html

[Bobby G]

I dont like this business of stripping titles and handing them over to other teams. It doesnt even feel like it was "won".

[philipl]

JUVENTUS RELEGATED

From the Times of Malta:

Juventus lawyer seeks lighter punishment – papers

[06/07/2006 - 10:06]

Juventus believe relegation to Italy's second division could be an acceptable punishment in an alleged match-fixing scandal which has rocked the country's soccer establishment, newspapers reported. Juventus lawyer Cesare Zaccone was quoted as saying that, if the club were found guilty, 'an acceptable punishment could be that of the other clubs, in other words (relegation to) the second division with points deducted'. A prosecutor has charged Juventus and three other clubs with sporting fraud and has recommended the Serie A champions be sent down to at least the third division while AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio be demoted to the second division.

So if the defense are arguing for "only one relegation and points reduction", Juve are not going to be playing in Serie A or Europe next season.

So lets get stuck into that player list again.

[Bobby G]

We wont even come close to their top players.

There are bigger vultures flying around.

[philipl]

Such as?

[Bobby G]

So lets list their key players:

Buffon, Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Thuram, Emerson, Vieira, Camoranesi, Trezeguet, Zlatan, etc...Do you think we will be the only side who would be interested? No bigger fish around?

[den]

JFH wont be joining Celtic. His agent is now going to talk to three Prem clubs.

Can't see rovers being one of those though.

[Rainmaker]

JFH wont be joining Celtic. His agent is now going to talk to three Prem clubs.

Can't see rovers being one of those though.

I hope you are right. JFH is past it and just looking for a final payday.

[Ozz]

Well Den, the Rovers fans want a big name and they dont come much bigger than Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

Could be worth a run for 12 months?

[neekoy]

I hope you are right. JFH is past it and just looking for a final payday.

That's what some said about Cole

Last year 31 starts 18 goals, year before 16, year before 19, year before 16

Wherever he goes he scores goals, isn't that what we have needed FFS?

[philipl]

So lets list their key players:

Buffon, Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Thuram, Emerson, Vieira, Camoranesi, Trezeguet, Zlatan, etc...Do you think we will be the only side who would be interested? No bigger fish around?

OK, the bigger vultures are Real, Barca, Arsenal, Mancs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern.

Do those seven have the vacancies to take Juve's 15 man first team squad? No, I don't think so either.

Then there is AC's squad up for grabs- are the seven big vultures taking four super-paid super-ego'd players each? No

Outside of those seven clubs, Rovers can broadly hold their own in terms of transfer attractiveness. That's why we are linked to the AC full back (makes a change to the Neill to AC stories anyway).

[Rainmaker]

OK, the bigger vultures are Real, Barca, Arsenal, Mancs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern.

Do those seven have the vacancies to take Juve's 15 man first team squad? No, I don't think so either.

Then there is AC's squad up for grabs- are the seven big vultures taking four super-paid super-ego'd players each? No

Outside of those seven clubs, Rovers can broadly hold their own in terms of transfer attractiveness. That's why we are linked to the AC full back (makes a change to the Neill to AC stories anyway).

Then again, I think only Juve will become victims of a mass exodus. The other teams look to, in worst case, to be relegated to Serie B, meaning 1 year out of the top flight. The clubs may simply offer their players a cash bonus to stick it out for that year.

[only2garners]

Then again, I think only Juve will become victims of a mass exodus. The other teams look to, in worst case, to be relegated to Serie B, meaning 1 year out of the top flight. The clubs may simply offer their players a cash bonus to stick it out for that year.

But the likelihood is that those teams relegated to serie B are also likely to have points deducted so that an immediate return will be very difficult. If you're a player at or just past your peak, aged say 26 to 30, will you want to commit to maybe two years in the wilderness with a chance of playing at the top level again in 2008, or look to move to a club towards the top of one of the best leagues in Europe and can offer good contracts?

[Ricky]

Or send them out on 12 month loan deals

which would be excellent for us.

[Oklahoma]

In case Milan goes to seria B, there will be loads of players leaving (article in calciomercato.com)

Hera are the players that will most likely leave:

Kaka

CAfu (back to Brazil probably)

Dida

Amoroso

Jankulovski

Vogel

Seedorf

Kalac

Pirlo, Gilardino and Gattuso maybe

If the prosecutor gets what he asked, there will be 10 to 15 players of each team going somewhere else. Maybe Rovers can't compete for the big stars but for some maybe Rovers can try to get one or two players. And the teams that will get those big starts will be looking to sell or loan some of their players also (no need to have more than 25 players in their squad).

Edited July 6, 2006 by Oklahoma

[tcj_jones]

Not only will the top teams in the world be after a fair few of these players, but there will also be plenty of clubs as a similar or lesser level to Rovers,.

We might be in Europe but have just sold our best player and there are definately a lot of clubs that might appear more attractive, clubs with higher attendances, more attractive areas, better players and, most importantly, hugehr wages. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of these players joining other Italian clubs.

I don't think we should rule out trying to buy these players, but I doubt we'll have much luck.

I wonder what Miccoli's situation is right now.

[Oklahoma]

Miccoli just said that today that outside Italy he'll only play in SL Benfica. He has a contract agreed with them, they are trying to get him on a free.

[herbergeehh]

Jankulovski would have been f a n t a s t i c !

[joey_big_nose]

Jankulovski would have been f a n t a s t i c !

Seconded. We would then have an awesome back line if Niell stays.

[Oklahoma]

Real Madrid are getting ready to rake advantage of the scandal.

According to Corriere dello Sport, they are going after Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Emerson and Kakà.

Luca Toni is also a possibility.

I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of these teams.

They have to choices: make good money now or wait and end up making very little money.

I wonder what the other sharks (Chelski, Manure, Barça, Inter, etc) are preparing...

More newspaper news:

Chelsea made a €30 million for Nesta.

Roma to hold conversations with Lecce about Vucinic (€12million). Iaquinta is also a possibility.

Edited July 7, 2006 by Oklahoma

[philipl]

Not surprised about Real going wholesale to the Italian clubs' scrapyard- they need half a dozen class players to live with Batca next season.

The needs of the other mega clubs are nowhere near as great which is why Rovers should be in with as good a chance as the other vultures.

That said, if Mido turns us down, it will not enhance the club's credibility. Knowing the way Rovers work, the way the Mido issue has gone quiet is slightly encouraging.

[Oklahoma]

ROvers should also take a look at these teams that will get players from the relegated teams.

It is likely that they will sell/loan some of their players cause they can't have more than 25 players in their squads.

[ABBEY]

CARRY ON FIXING

WORLD CUP FINAL ITALY v FRANCE, TOMORROW, KICK-OFF 7PM

Lift the World Cup and we'll give amnesty to clubs says minister

Martin Lipton Chief Football Writer

ITALY were handed an extraordinary boost ahead of the World Cup Final last night when the country's justice minister said there should be an amnesty for the clubs in the corruption scandal.

Seven of Marcello Lippi's starting side in Berlin play for clubs facing relegation from Serie A following the bribery and match-fixing shame that has taken Italian football into the gutter.

Juventus quartet Gianluigi Buffon, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro and Mauro Camoranesi face being demoted two divisions to Serie C with the Turin club the most heavily implicated.

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AC Milan midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, plus Fiorentina striker Luca Toni, also fear being plunged into Serie B, with another six members of Lippi's squad playing for those three clubs or Lazio who are also implicated.

But with recently-elected Prime Minister Romano Prodi having gone into the Italy dressing room after their semifinal win over Germany to join in the choruses of 'O Sole Mio', new Italian Justice Minister Clemente Mastella hinted at a possible escape clause for all four clubs.

Mastella believes the enjoyment the players have given the nation in the past month should be rewarded. He said: "The government cannot get involved in this issue but I do think the majority of fans want an amnesty.

"As a fan, let me ask this: is it fair that Cannavaro and Alessandro Del Piero and so many others should play in the third division after everything they have done?"

Lazio lawyer Gian Michele Gentile suggested the amnesty call would not come to anything because it would otherwise "render this whole trial pointless" but the highprofile intervention gave the Italy squad a massive lift.

Lippi's players were concentrating on how they would prevent Zinedine Zidane ending his career with the ultimate high in tomorrow's Berlin showdown.

Gattuso said: "You simply don't stop Zidane. He is one of the strongest players - when he has the ball you have to do the sign of the cross and hope he misses.

"When Zidane is 100 per cent he doesn't let you see the ball. With him, it's just a case of magic, now you see the ball and now you don't. It is worth paying money to watch him play."

While the Berlin Stadium is remembered more for the feats of Jesse Owens, those 1936 Olympics saw Italy taste victory in the football tournament.

Adding more golden medals tomorrow will require a bigger effort but former Everton star Marco Materazzi is backing Gattuso to keep Zidane at bay.

Materazzi said: "There's no need to charge Gattuso up, otherwise he would split the world in two. He can certainly mark Zidane.

"France are used to winning and we will have to work very hard because they have great players. But we are playing the most important game of our lives and we know what we have to do."

And skipper Cannavaro, who will earn his 100th cap tomorrow, is determined to shackle Thierry Henry and take revenge on France for two of the most miserable nights of his career.

Cannavaro said: "Earning my 100th cap in the World Cup Final is like crowning a dream for me."

The 32-year-old added: "I knew this could be my last World Cup so I asked my team-mates to help me go all the way.

"Whenever I think of France it brings back terrible memories of losing to them in the penalty shoot-out in Paris in 1998 and the Euro 2000 Final in Rotterdam.

"We're going to have to sweat, scrap and suffer but we can't contemplate defeat.

"We have already shown in this tournament that we are able to play good football."