04/19/24
May 22, 2006
Italy coach implicated in growing scandal.: "[S]ources inside the police in Naples claimed Lippi is himself a client of GEA World, the sports agency at the heart of the scandal. ... [O]f 63 players called up for Italy duty, nine have been GEA players, including Giorgio Chiellini, who is represented by Lippi's son. ... The officials who appointed him have already been forced to quit and his former club face relegation - and possible bankruptcy - for financial and sporting irregularities. A television poll ... found that 85 per cent of viewers want him to step down, a call echoed by one of the nation's leading newspapers."
posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 04:58 AM - 7 comments
Uh oh. This thing really does have legs, doesn't it? And if Berlusconi and his people are going to wind up being the ones pursuing the leads in this, what are the actuall odds that this problem will be resolved with some actions other than pointless window dressing and replacing the heads of this setup with new people?
posted by chicobangs at 05:51 AM on May 22, 2006
BAD TIMING... That's due to the sorting for next year's UEFA Cups. IIRC, either the investigation concludes with the appropriate relegations within the next couple of days or else UEFA proceeds with the standings as of now.
posted by romakimmy at 09:13 AM on May 22, 2006
And if Berlusconi and his people are going to wind up being the ones pursuing the leads in this, what are the actuall odds that this problem will be resolved with some actions other than pointless window dressing and replacing the heads of this setup with new people? Or what are the chances that any action taken just so happens to benefit AC Milan?
posted by holden at 10:00 AM on May 22, 2006
I thought that AC Milan was also implicated. Is this true? This is just more proof as to why I think Italian football sucks, it's not about football, or sports or even entertainment; it's just about winning at any price. For me it's completely joyless.
posted by sic at 11:00 AM on May 22, 2006
I have to wonder what the chances are of this distracting the Italian team in Germany.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 01:34 PM on May 22, 2006
I was thinking the same thing about the Italian players, Tex - they can't all be blameless. Even if they were, this has to weigh heavily on their minds. Not to mention the crap they'll get from the fans when they're playing. And, oh yeah, the opposing teams' fans will have a go, too.
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:25 PM on May 22, 2006
Background on the scandal, previously posted on SpoFi ...