Two Juventus Officials Accused Of "Sporting Fraud"
ROME (Reuters) - The trial of Juventus director Antonio Giraudo and club doctor Antonio Agricola, who are accused of "sporting fraud", resumed on Monday with the prosecution slamming the standard of doping controls in Italy.
"In Italy there have been serious gaps in anti-doping controls," said prosecutor Gianfranco Colace, quoted on Italian news agency ANSA.
Following a three-year inquiry by Turin magistrate Raffaele Guariniello, the charges against Juventus include the "irregular use of medicines which are either banned by the International Olympic Committee or subject to particular restrictions."
Giraudo and Agricola are accused of two specific offences, which they deny.
The first charge is that the use of restricted or banned medicines means they are allegedly guilty of "sporting fraud" - of altering the outcome of competitions due to the use of substances.
The pair also face charges that as employers they risked the health of their players with the policy. Giraudo and Agricola are considered responsible by the prosecution for Juve's policy.
The trial resumed on Monday after Juventus failed in an attempt to get the trial thrown out at the end of January.
Witnesses including special police members and legal officials are due to give testimony this week.
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 and other clubs. In early 1999 Guariniello interviewed a host of top Serie A players including Rui Costa, Alessandro Nesta, Lilian Thuram and Roberto Baggio.
Evidence gained by Guariniello from Serie A players could be used as part of the trial but prosecution and defence agreed that the players would not be asked to testify personally at the court.
