Entire Juventus board resigns

[ONO]

They should move Milan to the Midlands.

>_>

[therockbox]

I'm sure Milan are squeaky clean.

[Summers]

They should move Milan to the Midlands.

>_>

Uh. Why>

[hugobomb]

They should move Milan to the Midlands.

>_>

Uh. Why>

So we can talk about them in the Midland Club thread of course. Why else would we want them in England?

[TheArsenal]

It continues.......

Luciano Moggi, who is at the centre of an investigation into alleged corruption in Italian football, has quit as general manager of Juventus.

"From Monday I will have resigned. From this day the world of football is no longer my world," Moggi said.

"Now I'll think about defending myself from the malice said about me."

He has been linked to the publication of telephone taps involving talks with Italy football federation officials regarding refereeing appointments.

Referee Massimo De Santis, who is set to officiate at the World Cup next month, is also being investigated in the probe.

Moggi, along with Juve chief executive Antonio Giraudo, are two of 41 people under formal investigation.

Giraudo, who is also mentioned in the publication of taps, is under investigation for possible false accounting relating to transfer dealings.

Six-times European champions AC Milan as well as Lazio feature in the probe of 19 league games from last season.

In Rome, police searched the soccer federation's offices and those of the referees' association.

The crisis led incoming Prime Minister Romano Prodi to suggest that a political 'commisar' be put in charge of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

[TheArsenal]

The former general manager of Italian football team Juventus is being quizzed by prosecutors investigating claims of match-fixing in Italian football.

Luciano Moggi resigned on Sunday after Juventus clinched the Italian championship.

It follows the release of taped telephone conversations involving Mr Moggi and football federation officials regarding refereeing appointments.

The claims have already led to the resignations of the Juventus board.

The head of the Italian Football Federation also resigned after transcripts of the phone taps, authorised by investigating magistrates, suggested Mr Moggi tried to influence the choice of referees for Juventus games.

The scandal prompted Italy to withdraw one of its two referees, Massimo de Santis, from next month's World Cup in Germany.

Before being interviewed by prosecutors, Mr Moggi said he felt completely drained by the claims made against him.

"Do not ask me any questions, because I have neither the will nor the strength. I have no soul left, they killed it," he told Rai Radio 1. "Football is no longer my world and I will only think about defending myself from the much evil that has been said and done."

Outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who owns rival AC Milan, has demanded that his club be awarded the previous two Italian championships, as they came second behind Turin club Juventus on both occasions.

Call for calm

But Juventus coach Fabio Capelloi says the situation called for calm and serenity, and said no decisions should be made until all the evidence in the case had been considered.

"Before saying something like that we must evaluate all the phone intercepts, and if sanctions will be passed on. Let's wait, I think we must all wait with much calm and serenity. I am convinced that we will come out of this roaring."

Mr Moggi, along with Juve chief executive Antonio Giraudo, are two of 41 people under formal investigation.

Six-times European champions AC Milan, as well as Lazio, feature in the probe of 19 league games from last season.

The crisis led incoming Prime Minister Romano Prodi to suggest that a political "commissar" be put in charge of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

[MDK]

They should move Milan to the Midlands.

>_>

Uh. Why>

So the Midlands can have a decent team.

[Guest Kliq Masterson]

I would absolutely love for Juventus to be relegated. It would make my fucking day.

The current buzz around the Italian press indicates that there is going to be lots of exits from the club, player-wise.

I'd like Juventus to be cunts if they get relegated and force fags like Viera an and Trezeguet to play in Seria C.

[TheArsenal]

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has been placed under administration in a response to the match-fixing scandal that has stunned the country.

Former senator Guido Rossi was named on Tuesday as "extraordinary commissioner" of the beleaguered governing body.

The 75-year-old Rossi is expected to introduce a raft of new legislation to clean up Italian football's reputation.

Four teams, including champions Juventus, are under investigation for match-fixing and illegal betting.

Rossi, a sports law expert, was previously in charge of the Italian stock market's regulator Consob.

His appointment follows a week that has seen FIGC president Franco Carraro and vice-president Innocenzo Mazzini resign amid allegations that the governing body had allowed Juve to pick and choose referees for their games.

And on Sunday Juve's general manager Luciano Moggi, the man at the centre of the scandal, quit ahead of his grilling by prosecutors in Rome on Monday.

The Italian media on Tuesday published further intercepted telephone conversations between Moggi and football officials.

But the most damning involved calls between the Juve boss and outgoing Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu.

According to the transcripts, Moggi tried to pressure the politician to allow games to go ahead despite the imminent death of Pope John Paul II.

Juventus, who are owned by the powerful Agnelli family that also controls car manufacturer Fiat, were scheduled to play against a Fiorentina team that had two players suspended and two others injured. The game was postponed when the pope died.

In an earlier call, Pisanu asked Moggi to help third-division Torres, a club based in Pisanu's native Sardinia.

On Tuesday Pisanu expressed his annoyance that wiretaps "of no penal relevance" had been published and said: "I've known Luciano Moggi for 40 years and I don't have anything to hide about my relationship with him."

As well as Juventus, leading clubs AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio are also being investigated for alleged match-fixing and the manipulation of referee assignments.

Among those called to give evidence in Rome on Tuesday are AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, Inter coach Roberto Mancini, Serie A president Adriano Galliani and former referee Pierluigi Collina. The four are not under investigation but are being interviewed as "persons who may have knowledge of events".

And magistrates in Naples have launched a related investigation into illegal betting.

This probe is concentrating on the possible rigging of 20 games two seasons ago - all but one in Serie A. Among the 41 people under investigation is Juve and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The financial markets have been giving Juventus shares a hammering ever since the story broke.

As well as Moggi, the entire Juve board has resigned and with the focus of the investigation concentrated on the club the Turin giants face relegation to Italy's second flight next season if found guilty.

The Milan stock exchange suspended trading in Juve shares on Tuesday for the second day in succession when they slid a further 10% in value. Juve's market value has now fallen by over £40m, or 20%, in the last week.

Experts predict that Juve, Italy's most popular club, will lose at least £80m if they are relegated and stripped of their title and Champions League place.

Juventus, known as "La Vecchia Signora" (The Old Lady), won their 29th Serie A title on Sunday after a thrilling finish to the season. A 2-0 win over Reggina saw them pip rivals AC Milan to the championship for the second straight season.

In the last major football scandal to hit Italy, AC Milan and Lazio were relegated to Serie B in 1980 after an investigation into match-fixing and illegal betting.

[Guest Kliq Masterson]

Some of the conversations have been leaked and there's just outright flabbergasting. You've got the Juve upper-brass telling refs to "call everything, even what you don't see".

I don't see Juve getting out of this. The current talk in the Italian press is that there will either be a toss-up between a 200 million Euro fine as a well as the stripping of their two past scudettos and with outright relegation. Some are also saying both, as Juve will be made a scapegoat for the whole scandal.

I think I finally figured out why matches featuring Juve often have a member of the opposite team get sent off for no visible reason and why phantom penalties are awarded for no real reason.

[therockbox]

Couldn't happen to a nicer team, either.

[Jook]

Haha, fuckers. I kind of wish something cool like this would happen in the EPL. Bit of a shake-up. Maybe I'm just sadistic.

[TheArsenal]

Haha, fuckers. I kind of wish something cool like this would happen in the EPL. Bit of a shake-up. Maybe I'm just sadistic.

[hugobomb]

*cough*anyone so Brum won't go down*cough*

[TMM]

The thing is, I have a sickening feeling that SOMEHOW they'll get off with the footballing equivalent of a very hard slap on the wrist. I can't see them getting relegated, which they really should be. They should get the full massive fine, get relegated and have any recent trophies taken away. But Italian football has always been known to not really care for the rules. Would it really surprise anyone if they manage to "get away with it", or at the very least get off lightly?

Not really similar, but when Fiorentina went into administration they had to sell their name and couldn't use their kit color and were relegated to the bottom of the bottom league. Then a club in Serie B goes into administration, and Fiorentina miraculously get chosen to replace them and everything goes on like nothing happened (I'm going from memory, but that's mostly right...right?.

[Guest Kliq Masterson]

It wouldn't suprise me if nothing comes of this. But I'm optimistic. It's largely assumed among the Italian press that they're as good as on the way out now.

[TMM]

It wouldn't suprise me if nothing comes of this. But I'm optimistic. It's largely assumed among the Italian press that they're as good as on the way out now.

I really hope so. And I've noticed the distinct lack of Johnny Pefect/Dirty Johnny...someone get him in here now to blindly defend his cheating team.

[Guest muddatrucker]

He'll go back to supporting Man Utd, simple really.

[TMM]

He'll go back to supporting Man Utd, simple really.

But Man Utd didn't win the league. He'll support Chelsea, mark my words.

[Dan]

Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina too.