Government officials in Italy have raided the offices of the Italian Football Federation, Italian League and all Serie A and B clubs as they look into allegations of financial irregularity within the game.
Magistrates in Rome ordered the offices of the federation in be searched for any evidence, along with the league’s headquarters in Milan. Every club in Italy’s top two divisions were also raided as the authorities looked into potential fraud.
The inquiry is understood to have been launched after Bologna president Giussepe Gazzoni Frascara suggested that several clubs were playing without the required financial guarantees.
Italian clubs have to present COVISOC, the sport’s financial regulator, with financial guarantees at the start of each season. It is not unknown for clubs to produce fraudulent copies of guarantees.
Italian league vice-president Antonio Matarrese welcomed the investigation. despite the inconvenience of having his own office searched
“If the inquiry is useful to clear the situation, it’s well accepted,” he told the Adnkronos press agency.
“We have to continue working for Italian football’s good, or we must start everything from the beginning.
“I think that by making everything clear, we would then be finally able to leave the tunnel in which Italian football has entered.
“We wait further news and then we will see if there will be the possibility to work in peace.”
