Trouble in Italy

[Bald Student]

From Today's indo:

"Holy smoke! Fans cry foul as soccer bail-out plan gets red card


TOP football clubs stumbling into bankruptcy, stadiums erupting in bloody violence, a countrywide insurrection by fans bent on revenge against a government that allowed soccer to hit the rocks.

These doomsday scenarios drew a step closer to reality yesterday after Silvio Berlusconi's government announced it was shelving plans to bail out clubs swimming in debt and unpaid taxes.

Mayhem broke out at Sunday's Roma-Lazio derby in Rome, and the game abandoned after rumours spread that a child had been killed by a police car closeby. Chaos came a day after Mr Berlusconi predicted a "revolution" on the terraces if his government did not save the clubs.

Now the violence in Rome is increasingly seen as orchestrated to force the government to pass a "Save Football" decree allowing stricken clubs to spread payment of back taxes over several years.

But with coalition allies and even his finance minister strongly opposed to the plan, Mr Berlusconi yesterday threw in the towel.

Almost all the top clubs have till the end of March to get their books straight to satisfy new UEFA rules.

The decision followed the arrival of a fax from the EU competition commission provisionally rejecting the proposed measure as "state aid", which would distort competition between clubs of different countries.

Last season the Serie A clubs had a combined operating loss of €948m. (© Independent News Service)"




Mabye we don't have it too bad here. No riots over UEFA licences yet.

[eoinh]

The league only finished with seven teams!

Zvartnots withdrew; Banants and Spartak merged - played under Banants name; Ararat Yerevan were excluded for failing to release players for a national team training camp; Lernayin Artsakh, who share the same sponser as Ararat, withdrew in protest at the latters exclusion.


Or how about England - the main footballing story all season was Horse Sperm and who it belonged too.

[A face]

Man ... there must be one big shake down on the cards for European football .... bring that mother on i say !!