‘More than a thousand police yesterday raided all 42 clubs
in Serie A and Serie B as Italian prosecutors probed claims
of widespread financial irregularity and, in particular,
transfers which include the Argentinian striker Hernan
Crespo, now of Chelsea.
‘Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, owner of the
league leaders Milan, said: "I don't know what prompted
these raids but I hope the situations which emerge from them
will be in order." No one at Chelsea was available for
comment.
‘Other transfers likely to come under scrutiny are those of
Juan Sebastian Veron, who moved from Sampdoria to Parma for
£13m, Parma to Lazio for £18.1m, then on to Manchester
United for £28.1m before ending up at Chelsea for £15m; and
the former Italian international Dino Baggio, who has moved
between Internazionale, Juventus, Parma, Lazio and Blackburn
before his current club Ancona. United last night said they
did not want to comment.
‘Evidence has been accumulating for months of a string of
teams kept afloat only by a combination of official
indulgence and creative accountancy. Antonio Giraudo, the
chief executive of Juventus, one of the few sides with a
healthy balance sheet, has dubbed it "corporate doping"
because it offers sides with doctored accounts an unfair
advantage.
‘Professor Victor Uckmar, who walked out as head of Covisoc,
the game's financial regulatory authority, said last night:
"What we are seeing is the effect of mistakes by chairmen
who have failed to run their sides in a businesslike fashion
and by administrators who have managed the game with
considerable laxity in an effort to prevent disruptions." He
said part of the blame also rested with Berlusconi's
government, which had brought in a measure last year
decriminalising false accounting.
‘The catalyst for yesterday's raids was Roma's strong league
performance this year. Bologna's chairman Giuseppe Gazzoni
Frascara provoked controversy by saying it was because of
Roma's unpaid tax bills "that it could afford to have top
players like [Francesco] Totti and [Antonio] Cassano."’