ITALIAN FOOTBALL IN MELTDOWN

From the Guardian:

The Italian Football Federation - the country's FA - was placed under emergency administration yesterday as a consequence of match-fixing and corruption allegations which have already seen the president Franco Carraro and his deputy Innocenzo Mazzini resign.

Police authorities raided Carraro's offices and his home in Rome. They also seized documents at the headquarters of the Italian referees' association as part of the investigations that followed after the contents of tapped telephone conversations involving Juventus's general manager Luciano Moggi were revealed.

Moggi was talking to officials responsible for the appointment of the referees Pierlugi Pairetto and Paolo Bergamo. He also spoke to Italy's coach Marcello Lippi, asking him to select players represented by his son Alessandro and with the journalist Aldo Biscardi about which referees to criticise and which to defend on TV.

Prosecutors are looking closely at 19 matches in the 2004-05 season, 12 involving Juventus, for irregularities in refereeing decisions. Nine Serie A and B clubs - including Lazio, Fiorentina and Milan - and 41 individuals are under investigators' scrutiny. That includes the referee Massimo De Santis who had been chosen for the World Cup but will not go now.

A decision on the case is expected soon as Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio need to know if they will be admitted to play in the next European competitions.