Lippi's son investigated in soccer scandal

The son of Italy's World Cup coach Marcello Lippi is being investigated by magistrates looking into the sports management agency he worked for, legal sources said yesterday.

The GEA World agency, which is headed by Alessandro Moggi, the son of former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, is being investigated by magistrates for "illegal competition with use of threats and violence".

The firm has more than 200 players and coaches on its books.

Luciano Moggi is at the centre of the match-fixing storm that is buffeting Italian soccer after telephone transcripts were published of his conversations with top soccer officials.

Apart from Lippi's son, Davide, magistrates are also investigating Giuseppe De Mita, the son of former Italian prime minister Ciriaco De Mita, and two others.

Others at GEA, including Moggi's son, are already under investigation.

Italy coach Lippi has faced calls to resign before the World Cup in Germany, which starts on June 9, after allegations he was forced by Moggi to select certain players for the national side.

Lippi has insisted he never came under pressure over team selection and that he never had business dealings with his son while the latter was at the agency.

Giancarlo Abete, who is vice-president of the Italian Football Federation, said the decision by magistrates to investigate Lippi's son did not affect its recent vote of confidence in Lippi to lead Italy into the World Cup.

"We are in a situation in which a storm is going on, in the sense that there is a situation that gets filled with new elements day after day," Abete was quoted as saying by Italy's AGI news agency.

Italy and Juventus defender Gianluca Zambrotta said he did not believe the investigation of Lippi's son would impact on the coach's work with the national side.

The Azzurri are preparing for the World Cup finals at a training camp near Florence.

"The Lippi I see is calm and has the same desire as the players - to reach our objective and do the work we need to do in order to go all the way at the World Cup," Zambrotta said.

Defender Fabio Grosso said he hoped Lippi would be able to keep his focus on preparing for the finals.

"This is fresh news and we try to keep this heavy stuff out of our minds. I think the coach will be able to do the same," said Grosso.