Friday, September 22, 2006

Sampdoria striker Francesco Flachi has been suspended for two months by the
Italian Football League following an investigation into allegations he
helped gather information for gamblers. The Football League's disciplinary
commission ruled that Flachi had "sought to gain information on the outcome
of games" for a third party. Flachi's former Samp team mate Moris
Carrozzieri, now with Atalanta, was also handed a two month ban for the same
offence relating to a lower division game. The charges were originally
placed against Flachi in October 2005 after a telephone intercept was
published featuring him chatting with Fabio Bazzani, then with Lazio, about
the Rome derby. The disciplinary commission's ruling said there had been no
evidence that Flachi's behaviour had influenced the outcome of any game but
that he had broken rules on gambling and sporting behaviour. Sampdoria were
fined 20,000 euros by the commission.