Court investigation targets England manager

England manager Fabio Capello is being investigated by an Italian state prosecutor on suspicion of withholding information from a court, a judicial source said yesterday.

The prosecutor intends to bring a case against Capello and former Juventus director Antonio Giraudo after they gave evidence in a trial of six men accused of fostering unfair competition through the use of threats or violence as part of Italy's Gea World sports agency, the source said.

Under Italian law, a person found guilty of withholding information in court can be jailed for up to six years.

In London, an English FA spokesman said: "It is a private matter and the FA have no comment to make."

As a witness, Capello had earlier told the court in Rome he never dealt with player contracts while in Italy and never heard of players being put under pressure to sign specific agreements.

Former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, also at the centre of Italy's 2006 match-fixing affair, and Davide Lippi, son of former Italy coach Marcello, are among the defendants.

Capello worked under Moggi at Juve from 2004-2006 and his time in charge of Roma between 1999 and 2004 also interested the court. The 61-year-old, appointed as England coach in December, is also being investigated for alleged tax fraud by prosecutors in Turin.

He has said his finances are in order and was not aware of any matters which would be of concern.

In court, Capello denied having had relations with the directors of the Gea agency and denied having been put under pressure over the management of players during his time at Juventus and Roma.

Prosecutor Luca Palamara asked the court for and obtained the transcripts of Capello and Giraudo's statements, accusing both of withholding information, the source said.

It was not clear which part of Capello's testimony the prosecutor was unhappy with.

"I give indications for transfers, then I give the assignment to the sporting director of the club and he takes care of it," Capello had said about his practices as a club coach.

Capello was coach of Juventus when they were demoted to Serie B and stripped of their 2005 and 2006 championships because of a match-fixing scandal linked to procuring favourable referees. He subsequently left for a second spell in charge of Real Madrid.