Capello lawyers refute obstructiveness claim

An Italian prosecutor plans to bring charges against Capello following allegations he withheld information in a corruption trial.

 Capello is accused of having been evasive and obstructive while serving as a witness in the trial of six men who were accused of bullying players into signing for GEA World, a sports management firm.

 In that proceeding, he insisted that he never dealt with contracts or was aware of any pressure on players.

 "We are really surprised by the public prosecutor's declaration," the lawyer said.

 "Mr Capello was heard as a witness in the proceedings against the GEA Company, and confirmed before the Court of Rome all of the declarations that he had already provided to the public prosecutor during the investigation," he said.

 "Mr Capello made it clear that he has never been involved in the conclusion of professional football players' contracts, and has only limited and indirect knowledge of this subject."

   Capello believed he had given all the information required of him to the court and his lawyers are "confident that everything will soon be completely cleared."

   A Football Association spokesman said, "This is a private matter and we have no comment to make."

   The defendants in the case include former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, who was at the centre of Italy's match-fixing scandal in 2006, and Davide Lippi, son of the former Italy coach Marcello.

 Capello worked as Juventus coach under Moggi until 2006, but the court was also concerned with his time at Roma between 1999 and 2004.

 During that period he gave an interview to the Corriere dello Sport, in which he acknowledged many players were "gravitating towards that company."

   In court, Capello said he could not remember to what he had been referring.