Italian Clubs Investigated for Fraud
Fraud investigators armed with search warrants raided the offices of all 42 clubs in Italy’s top two divisions Thursday, as well as the headquarters of the Italian soccer federation and the Italian league.
More than 1,000 police officers took part in the searches, which reports said were focused on finding financial documents concerning, among other things, the transfer of players over the last five seasons.
Italian clubs in Serie A and Serie B have accumulated massive debts in recent years, and clubs such as Lazio and Parma have teetered on the brink of bankruptcy after the collapse of their parent companies.
According to the financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore, Serie A clubs lost $1.18 billion last season, with player salaries accounting for 85% of all income. The clubs in the top flight were said to be more than $2.5 billion in debt.
Investigators were said to be seeking evidence of false accounting in player contracts and in the financial guarantees clubs have to provide to remain in business.
Thursday’s operation was ordered by Rome magistrates, but Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime minister and the owner of European champion and Italian league leader AC Milan, professed no knowledge of the matter.
“I don’t know what provoked these searches, but I hope that a situation of legality emerges,” Berlusconi told the news agency ANSA.
Guilty Verdict
Gavri Levi, the former chairman of the Israeli soccer federation, was found guilty by Haifa District Court of assaulting a journalist after a lower court last year acquitted him of the same charge.
Prosecutors appealed the original verdict, claiming Levi, 66, had physically attempted to bar journalist Hemi Uzan from the Israeli national team’s hotel before a World Cup 2002 qualifying match against Bosnia.
Galaxy Trio
Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, defender Danny Califf and forward Jovan Kirovski were included in the squad of 18 called up to play for the United States in a friendly international against Haiti at the Orange Bowl in Miami on March 13.
Coach Bruce Arena called up only one foreign-based player, former UCLA defender Carlos Bocanegra, now with Fulham in England. The other 17 players are from Major League Soccer teams.
Athens 2004
Canada’s women’s national team set course for the Olympic Games by routing Jamaica, 6-0, in its opening game at the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Forward Christine Sinclair scored three goals, bringing her career total to 47 goals in 61 matches for the national team.
Also scoring for Canada were Christine Latham, Charmaine Hooper and Carmelina Moscato.
In a later game, Costa Rica routed Panama, 6-1, led by Megan Chaves, who scored two goals.
Peru’s Pledge
Alejandro Toledo, Peru’s president, pledged $5 million in government money to upgrade stadiums in Cuzco, Piura, Chiclayo, Trujillo and Tacna, where the Copa America tournament will be played July 6-26.
The Copa America will feature South America’s 10 national teams, plus invited guests Costa Rica and Mexico.
Quick Passes
Jacques Georges, former president of UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, died Wednesday at his home in the French ski resort of Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle. He was 87. Georges was president of the French soccer federation from 1969 to 1972, president of UEFA from 1984 to 1990 and a vice president of FIFA from 1983 to 1994.... The Dallas Burn was beaten, 2-1, by Odd Grenland of Norway at the La Manga Cup in Spain. Bobby Rhine scored for Dallas.
