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Post by Macmoish on Apr 21, 2011 23:26:24 GMT
DEFINITELY NOT what WE mean by "The Italian Way" INDEPENDENT
Italian police seize Mob's Serie D football teamsBy Michael Day in Milan Italian anti-Mafia investigators have seized control of two fourth-division football teams that mobsters were using to boost support, it has emerged. Other confiscated assets in a haul worth €190m (£167m) were 40 private companies, 44 homes and 164 vehicles. But it was the Pesce clan's grip on local football in the southern Italian region of Calabria that struck investigators. Financial police seized the club premises and sport complexes attached to two Serie-D teams: Sapri Calcio near Salerno, and Rosarnese, in the Gioia Tauro-Rosarno heartland of the 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate. "They thought they could increase their popularity through the sport," investigators said. All the goods and properties could be linked to the feared local boss Francesco Pesce, who remains at large along with other key members of the group. Italy has stepped up its efforts to seize mafia assets over the last year. In the past few days a mafia trial involving 70 mobsters affiliated to the Pesce clan has begun. The Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said: "In recent weeks, the Italian state has inflicted a harsh blow on the organisational structure and finances of the Pesce clan." www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italian-police-seize-mobs-serie-d-football-teams-2271128.html
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Post by samp99 on Apr 22, 2011 1:37:48 GMT
Weird. That's a bit like someone over here "seizing control" of Kidderminster, or ... Vauxhall motors (sorry!)
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coitparkrangers
Ian Holloway
Belknap Subbuteo League Apertura Champions 2010/11
Posts: 401
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Post by coitparkrangers on Apr 22, 2011 2:30:57 GMT
If they were being run by neo-Nazis or similar groups, it might be possible...
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Post by Macmoish on Apr 22, 2011 6:38:56 GMT
Meanwhile in Holland... Guardian Sachin Nakrani Thursday 21 April 2011 22.02
Den Haag's goalkeeper has put England's bad boys in the shade after being found guilty of owning a major cannabis farm, forgery and money launderingWhat with Ashley Cole's air rifle and Joey Barton's many moments of questionable conduct – the most recent being his claim to be England's best midfielder – this has been another season of woe for the reputation of Premier League footballers. But as the campaign edges to its close they can all breath a sign of relief, for it transpires that there is a player in Holland who tops the lot when it comes to bad behaviour. Step forward Gino Coutinho, goalkeeper of the Eredivisie club ADO Den Haag who, along with his girlfriend, was yesterday found guilty in a Dutch court of owning a major cannabis farm and, as if that was not enough, being involved in forgery and money laundering. The pair were sentenced to 12 months in prison, leaving Coutinho's career in ruins and his club the task of finding a replacement keeper for their remaining three games of the season. Police arrested Coutinho in August 2009 after raiding a warehouse in Ens, a village in the Dutch province of Flevoland, that contained over 4,200 marijuana plants. The 28-year-old denied his involvement despite being on the premises, with his partner, when officers raided and he continued to maintain that stance even after it was discovered to be registered in his name. As Coutinho, a former Dutch Under-21 international who played at the 2001 Under-20 World Cup, wallows in his prison cell he may well reflect on his roots as the source of his sins. After all his father William was himself sentenced to two years in prison last month for his involvement with the Ens marijuana factory. Dopes and doping, it appears, run in the family. Coutinho has been at Den Haag since 2008 following stints at PSV, Den Bosch, NAC Breda and Vitesse. He has established himself as the club's first-choice goalkeeper and was instrumental in their success this season, with the former amateur team from Hague – whose average attendance at their Kyocera Stadion barely reaches 12,000 spectators – currently fifth in Holland's top flight and harbouring genuine ambitions of making next season's Europa League. Tonight they host FC Twente, who are in second place, level on points with the leaders PSV. John van den Brom, the Den Haag manager, has expressed his disappointment with Coutinho's behaviour and is now likely to pick his back-up keeper Robert Zwinkels for the visit of Twente. There is, as yet, no word on whether Coutinho has officially been sacked by Den Haag or if he will be allowed to return to the club once he has completed his prison sentence. Whatever happens, Coutinho will always be the man Barton and Co can turn to when trying to prove they are not so bad after all. www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/apr/21/gino-coutinho-cannabis-farm-haag
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Post by Macmoish on Apr 22, 2011 6:40:30 GMT
And in England Guardian
Premier League denies conflict of interest claim against Sir Dave Richards
• Firm owned by Richards' son secured work with organisation • MP says link raises 'serious questions' over transparencyRevelations that a firm owned by the son of the Premier League chairman, Sir Dave Richards, secured work with the organisation raise "serious questions" over transparency, according to an MP investigating football governance. Glue Creative Production Solutions, a marketing firm owned by David Richards, have also carried out work for England's 2018 World Cup bid and the Association of European Professional Football Leagues. Richards currently chairs the EPFL as well as the Premier League and was on the board of England 2018. According to the Yorkshire Post, who revealed the connection, Richards was a director of Glue until 31 December last year. Damian Collins, a Tory MP who sits on the culture, media and sport committee which is carrying out the inquiry into football governance, said he would raise the issue with his fellow MPs. He told the Yorkshire Post: "If football organisations he [Richards] is a part of were doing business with a company he had interests in, that does raise serious questions. "It is about the general issue of transparency in football. If Dave Richards had commercial interests that does raise questions about how transparent those interests were." Fellow committee member Therese Coffey added: "If there are vested interests at play we need to help bring some sunshine into that and that is part of the role of the inquiry." The Premier League insists all tenders have followed the same process and suppliers are chosen on the basis of cost and value. The league said in a statement: "Glue does not have a contract with the Premier League. They have in the past provided us with an ad hoc service for small-scale orders of Premier League-branded corporate gifts as many other small suppliers have." The EPFL said Richards had never taken part in any decisions related to Glue and had no concerns about any potential conflict of interest. Richards was not available for comment. www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/apr/21/premier-league-conflict-dave-richards
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