Italian finance police raid 41 football clubs

Italian finance police on Tuesday conducted search and seizures of 41 football clubs, including 18 top league teams, on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering in the buying and selling of players, a police spokesman said. Apart from the top level Serie A teams, 11 B league teams and 12 from the lower brackets are involved. The probe also includes 12 player agents, finance police added. Two of the teams involved are listed on the stock exchange, SS Lazio and Juventus FC, judicial and police sources told Reuters. The Naples court ordered the searches as part of an investigation into criminal conspiracy, international tax evasion, money laundering and invoice falsification, police said. A spokesman for Lazio had no comment, and Juventus officials did not immediately respond to phone calls. A statement by Naples prosecutors said some foreign clubs also were also part of the investigation, but they did not identify them. From: AFP