Juventus Doctor Agricola Found Guilty

Serie A team's executive chief Antonio Giraudo cleared on all doping charges

Juventus doctor Riccardo Agricola has been found guilty of administering the banned drug EPO to the club's players during the 1990s. Agricola was given a 22-month prison sentence by a Turin judge last Friday after a trial investigating doping at Italy's most successful soccer club.
Club chief executive Antonio Giraudo was found not guilty. Agricola was also ordered to pay a 2,000 euro fine after being found guilty of the formal charge of 'sporting fraud.'
Defense lawyer Paolo Trofino told reporters the judge had found Agricola guilty of administering the blood-booster EPO.
"He was condemned for what was the weak point of the prosecution's charges, the administration of EPO," said Trofino. "It is a sentence that will be difficult to get through appeal," he said, confirming the defense intended to appeal.
The trial looked at Juve's medical practices between 1994 and 1998, a period when they won three Italian titles and also the 1996 European Cup.
The Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) said they would wait for the publication of the judge's full verdict before taking any possible steps.
European soccer's governing body UEFA said that they had been informed of the verdict by the FIGC and "were staying put but would follow matters through the FIGC."
It is unlikely that Agricola will have to serve time in prison because first offences are often suspended in Italy.
Giraudo told reporters the verdict meant the club had been cleared. "It is a very important sentence. I was absolved in my role of chief executive and so Juventus was absolved. That means innocence."
Turin public prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello began investigating allegations against 27-times Italian champions Juventus in 1998.
"This is what I expected," Guariniello said after the verdict. "It is only the first step."
EPO is a synthetic hormone that stimulates the body's production of red blood cells, increasing oxygen transport and endurance. It has been widely used in cycling.
France's Zinedine Zidane, three times World Player of the Year, former Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli, now a television presenter, and former European Player of the Year Roberto Baggio were among many ex-Juve players who testified during the Turin trial which began in September 2002.
All said they had never knowingly been treated with illegal substances.
The investigation was prompted by comments made in a 1998 magazine interview by current Lecce coach Zdenek Zeman that Italian soccer needed to "get out of the pharmacy." In the interview Zeman pointed the finger at Juventus.
Italy coach Marcello Lippi said he remained proud of his Juventus team of the 1990's despite the verdict that led to the club's doctor being sentenced to 22 months in jail for administering banned drugs.
Lippi was a guest on Italian television show Studio Sprint last Sunday at the same time as Zdenek Zeman.
"I don't need to be satisfied or unhappy about a sentence," said Lippi when asked about the verdict. "Above all it is not definitive and also it does not change my appreciation and respect for all those people who worked with me at Juventus - coaches, directors and players," added the Italy coach.
Zeman said the Turin club, 27 times Italian champions, had lost the trial.
"Juve say that they won but for me they lost. If a doctor is condemned for sporting fraud and doping that is something sad for soccer and for the club in question," said Zeman who is currently coach of Serie A club Lecce.
Meanwhile on the pitches of Serie A, Inter Milan fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with leaders Juventus in the 'Derby d'Italia' at the San Siro stadium with Brazilian Adriano grabbing an 85th minute equalizer.
Although the result means Inter maintain their record as the only unbeaten side in Serie A, their 11th draw from 13 matches leaves them down in seventh place still 15 points behind Juve.
The happiest team last Sunday were second placed AC Milan who won 1-0 at Chievo with a Hernan Crespo goal and were able to close the gap on Juve to four points.
Juve have 32 points, Milan are on 28 and Udinese, who won 2-1 at Livorno, are in third place on 22 points.
Cagliari moved up to fourth after a 3-2 win at Lazio with former Italy forward Gianfranco Zola on target for the Sardinians.
After a scrappy first half, Juve went ahead in the 53rd minute when a long-range shot from European Player of the Year Pavel Nedved beat the wrong-footed Francesco Toldo.
Juve then doubled their lead when a goal-bound Zalayeta was brought down inside the area by Toldo and Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic squeezed his penalty under Toldo.
Inter coach Roberto Mancini responded with a radical double substitution, taking off Dutch midfielders Andy van der Meyde and Edgar Davids and throwing on forwards Christian Vieri and Alvaro Recoba to create a four-player attacking line-up.
The move paid off in the 79th minute when Vieri fired home a fine shot to bring Inter back into the game and then five minutes from the end Adriano volleyed in a cross from Nigerian Obafemi Martins.
It was no surprise that the prolific Adriano, who has 10 league goals so far, proved to be the saviour for Inter. But for Milan's Crespo this has been the week when he defied critics who had written him off.
The striker, on loan from English leaders Chelsea, had not scored until last week's Italian Cup win at Palermo but now has four goals in three games after his Champions League double against Shakhtar Donetsk and the winner against Chievo.
The Verona outfit caused Milan plenty of problems. But the Argentine Hernan Crespo fired home five minutes after the break to give Milan a 1-0 away win.
Lazio coach Domenico Caso is under pressure after his side slumped to a 3-2 defeat at home to Cagliari.
Off the pitch, Italian television viewers are turning away from soccer with the sport's dozens of programmes showing falling viewing figures.
The daily Gazzetta dello Sport reported last Friday that many of the highlights and chat shows on Italian terrestrial channels have suffered a fall in audience share this season.
Live games have also lost viewers with AC Milan's Champions League game against Shakhtar Donetsk, shown on free terrestrial channel Italia 1, picking up just 10.61 per cent of the audience.
Italian national team games, available on state broadcaster RAI have also seen a major slump, Gazzetta said.
The traditional Sunday evening highlights show 90th Minute has seen its audience share drop by over 3 percent and presenter Paola Ferrari said that while that fall was not dramatic there were signs fans were worn out by saturation coverage.
"There is some tiredness from the public. It comes from the disappointing Euro 2004 for Italy, the increased number of games and also because in Serie A Juventus have been on top from the start and some of the Inter, Roma and Lazio fans have been lost," she told the paper.
One of the few programmes to show a slight increase in audience share is Biscardi's Trial - a controversial panel discussion show which frequently descends into loud and bitter rows.
"I talk about the sickness in soccer and as the game is seriously ill people are interested and they watch," Biscardi said.

Publication Date: 2004-12-05
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4696