Corruption in Soccer

Fabio Capello embroiled in corruption case;

Fabio Capello, the England manager, could face criminal charges after he was accused of withholding information in a corruption trial yesterday.

Capello, who was manager of Juventus during a two-year period in which the club were alleged to have fixed matches, gave evidence for over an hour to a court in Rome investigating allegations that six men conspired to control transfers by intimidating players into signing for a sports management firm. Prosecutor Luca Palamara said Capello had kept saying "I don't know" and "I don't remember" in his testimony. "We ran into a brick wall of reticence," he said. "In this court, witnesses are obliged to tell the truth, and not to refer to gossip or to say they do not remember."

There is no suggestion that Capello was involved in the match-fixing scandal and last night his lawyers issued a statement expressing their confidence that "everything will soon be completely cleared".

Yesterday's hearing centred on the role of GEA World, a sports management agency run by Davide Lippi, the son of Italy's World Cup-winning coach, Marcello. GEA World is alleged to have told players at lowly clubs that they could win a contract with Juventus if they threw games.