Juventus Officials To Court On Doping Charges
TURIN, Italy (Reuters)(DS) - Two Juventus officials have been charged with "sporting fraud" relating to alleged doping offences following a three-year inquiry, the Italian Serie A club said.
Juventus director Antonio Giraudo and club doctor Antonio Agricola will be tried in a Turin court on January 31 next year, the club confirmed to Reuters on Monday.
The charges include the alleged "irregular use of medicines wich are either banned by the International Olympic Committee or subject to particular restrictions".
The pair had been interviewed as part of Turin public magistrate Raffaele Guariniello's investigation into doping in the game. There is so far no indication if others may face charges as a result of the probe.
Lawyers representing Giraudo and Agricola said they were looking forward to getting a chance to present their case in court.
"Bring the court case so that we can demonstrate that we haven't broken any laws," Luigi Chiappero told Italy's ANSA news agency. "I am awaiting our day in court with serenity."
Chiappero and Juve president Vittorio Chiusano, a lawyer by profession, will be representing the Juventus officials.
GUARINIELLO'S LIST
Chiappero said his defence was likely to focus on the fact that Guariniello's investigation has named products that are in regular commercial use and, he said, were available in high-street pharmacies.
Guariniello began his probe in August 1998 after claims made by former AS Roma coach Zdenek Zeman that drug use was rife within Italian soccer. The magistrate has interviewed a number of players and officials at Juventus.
Argentine Diego Maradona testified in front of Guariniello in November 1998 and the magistrate later extended his inquiry to look at the deaths of over 40 players he suspected may have died as a result of doping.
In early 1999 Guariniello interviewed a host of top Serie A players including Rui Costa, Alessandro Nesta, Lilian Thuram and Roberto Baggio.
In June of that year he handed in a 'black list' to Italian Olympic Committee president Gianni Petruzzi which was said to include the names of 60 to 200 players from Serie A, B and C.
Italian football has been rocked by a series of doping cases this season.
Juventus's Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids and Lazio defender Fernando Couto are among nine players who have tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone.
