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| Monday, November 11, 2002 17:44 EST |
Measures put in place to stop heavy criticism of referees
[Reuters]
MILAN -- Heavily criticized Italian
referees have been told they can take legal action against club
officials, coaches and players who defame them.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced on Monday a
series of measures aimed at curbing the regular slanging matches
between club and match officials and growing claims of biased
refereeing in Serie A, warning it was ready to use the courts.
"The message is that there will be no more tolerance of all
this," a Federation spokeman said.
Italy has an elaborate system of disciplinary committees and
'sporting courts' which are meant to keep disputes between those
in the game in house.
But the FIGC said it would now authorize legal action to be
taken in regular courts in cases of defamation of character.
"If an individual, for example a referee, approaches the
Federation and says that he intends to take legal action he can
be given that authorization without it affecting the work of the
sporting justice system," said the spokesman.
The FIGC has instructed its disciplinary bodies to take
swift action against Federation members, who include all
players, coaches and club officials, in cases of "gratuitous
defamation" said the spokesman.
The Federation says its own lawyers could sue non-members
who it believes are defaming the sport or individuals within the
sport, which could pave the way for legal action to be taken
against television pundits or journalists.
Popular television soccer chat shows in Italy frequently
descend into rows with claims of bias and hints of plots.
The announcement came after talks between Federation
president Franco Carraro and officials from the Italian Referees
Association after the latest bout of heavy criticism of
referees.
The first sign of the tough new approach came earlier on
Monday when Roma president Franco Sensi and Como president
Enrico Preziosi were referred to the FIGC's disciplinary
committee after critical comments at the weekend.
Sensi had made a strongly worded attack on unidentified
"delinquents" inside the game and repeated his often heard claim
of bias in favor of Northern clubs.
He had suggested that the high number of yellow cards
against Roma players were "preparation" for the club's upcoming
games against direct rivals for the title. It is not the first
time Sensi's comments have landed him in hot water.
Preziosi made a furious attack on the refereeing following
his side's 1-0 loss to Bologna on Sunday and said he was
resigning because he could put up with "scandalous refereeing"
no longer, suggesting there was an organized effort against his
club.
Preziosi criticized the decision of referee Alfredo
Trentalange to award Bologna a penalty which its striker
Giuseppe Signori converted to win the game.
"Today we can say Bologna 1 Como 0 -- goalscorer
Trentalange," Preziosi said after Sunday's game.
Preziosi has made several accusations in recent weeks that
bigger clubs enjoy favoritism and suggested his team had paid
the price for his words.
"Today we saw more scandalous refereeing, all in the favor
of Bologna. I criticized the referees during the week and this
was the reaction.
Carraro has also written a letter to Italian Football League
president Adriano Galliani urging the support of the league and
the clubs for the moves and for increased backing for referees.
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