Fabio Capello: Jail, ‘Three Liars’ And Juventus
FABIO Crapello: Anorak’s look at England football manager Fabio Capello in the news
“THREE LIARS ON HIS SHIRT – Fabio faces jail for perjury,” says the Star’s front-page headline.
Capello is not to be charged with the crime of not making England world beaters in an instant. The Star says Capello is being “probed by Italian prosecutors after giving evidence to a football bribes hearing. And he could face four years in jail if found guilty of lying or withholding information.”
The Telegraph tells of “millions of pounds of fines and six years in prison”.
Capello was previously found guilty, by a court in Como in 2003, of pretending to live in Switzerland in order to minimise his tax payments. However, it is no coincidence that the potential legal proceedings looming over him have arrived at this particular moment, just as he left Italy for England.
In Turin, the tax police said that their investigation into Capello’s finances came about “because he was appointed to manage England, and his profile rose rapidly”.
If found guilty of both offences and jailed for each separately, Capello could be put in choky for a decade. Jail him now and he could be talked about as the greatest manager England ever had. He’d be FABio. Indeed, jail may be preferable to football failure and becoming CRAPello.
Over in Italy, Capello has been bearing witness at the legal proceedings linked to the cheating scandal that hit Italian football two years ago.
At the time Capello was manager of Juventus, who were demoted two divisions. Capello is not accused of being involved in any of the wrongdoing, even if the Star does stick three liars on his shirt.
In Rome, Capello was asked about his knowledge of a sports agency called GEA, which, the Star says, used to manage the careers of several Italian footballers. The Times says Gea was managed by Alessandro Moggi, the son of Luciano Moggi, the Juventus general manager.
Prosecutor Luca Palamara grew angry with Capello when, during an hour of evidence, he replied to questions by saying: “I don’t remember.”
Says Palamara: “Whoever is called to give evidence is obliged to tell the truth so we can avoid this tam-tam of ‘I don’t remembers’.”
Palamara will now review all Capello’s statements. And the English FA will begin to look upon Sven Goran Eriksson’s tenure as boss as a time of rare achievement and glory…
Posted: 1st, April 2008 | In: Back pages Comments (7) | TrackBack | Permalink
