Reuters
 
Rome, Jun 24: Italy's football prosecutor on Thursday ordered four top teams, Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina, to stand trial in a match-fixing scandal that could see them thrown out of Serie A if found guilty.

The Football Federation (FIGC) said its prosecutor, Stefano Palazzi, had charged a total of 30 "subjects" - the four clubs and 26 individuals - for sporting fraud and violating fairness and probity, offences that can be punished by fines, bans and relegations.

FIGC chose not to identify any of the individuals who will face a sports tribunal next week, but leaks to the press showed officials from all four clubs, top referees and the former head of FIGC itself would stand trial.

Juventus issued a statement saying Luciano Moggi - the club's former general manager sometimes called "Lucky Luciano" who is at the centre of many of the allegations - and former CEO Antonio Giraudo had been charged.

AC Milan said on its website that CEO Adriano Galliani - who on Thursday resigned as head of Italy's soccer league - had not violated the principle of fairness, an implicit acknowledgement that he had been charged.

ANSA news agency issued a list of all 26 of the individuals charged, including former FIGC president Franco Carraro, Lazio president Claudio Lotito, Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle and his brother Diego, the Tod's luxury footwear brand tycoon who owns the club.

All involved have denied any wrongdoing in Italy's biggest sports scandal in a quarter of a century. The trial will be held in Rome's Olympic Stadium and broadcast by closed-circuit television to journalists from the world's media.

Place Secured

The FIGC statement was issued after Italy secured a place in the second round of the World Cup by beating the Czech Republic 2-0 - timed to avoid hitting morale in a game that could have seen the national side ousted from the tournament.

Fourteen players in Italy's squad play for the four teams that face trial, with eight of them, including captain Fabio Cannavaro and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, in Thursday's opening lineup.

Ironically, the first player to comment on the news was Juventus midfielder and Czech playmaker Pavel Nedved.

"Whoever did wrong must pay and must go down to Serie B or even Serie C," Nedved said after his national side was bounced out of the World Cup after losing to Italy.

The scandal erupted last month when newspapers published intercepted telephone conversations between Juventus's Moggi and senior FIGC officials discussing refereeing appointments during the 2004/05 season.

Media Speculation p>Media have speculated that league champions Juve could be demoted to Serie C1 - Italy's third division - and be stripped of the Serie A titles they won in the last two seasons.

Milan also risk sanctions after phone taps showed one of its officials discussing referee appointments with FIGC staff.

The club's owner, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said he was sure Milan would not be penalised "because the accusations are based on phrases that might be said in any conversation".

In an affair that bridges sport, politics and finance, FIGC was asked not to release the news during market hours to prevent disorderly trading in Juventus and Lazio.

Since the scandal broke in early May, Juventus shares have lost half their value.

Juve shares closed up 5.9 percent on the day at 1.329 euros while Lazio shares, which only price once a day, added 4.32 percent to 29 cents, according to data on the Bourse website.

Any club or individual who is convicted can ask for an appeals trial which FIGC has promised will end by July 27, in time for FIGC to tell UEFA which teams will compete in next season's Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions.