Italy: the presidents of Lazio, Genoa and Bari suspected of obstructing Covisoc (management control)

Claudio Lotito, president of SS Lazio (Serie A TIM), Enrico Preziosi, president of Genoa CFC (Serie A TIM) and Gianluca Paparesta, president of FC Bari 1908 (Serie B) are suspected by the prosecutor of Milan (ITA) of "obstructing the activity of supervision" of Covisoc (Commissione di Vigilanza sulle Società di Calcio), the Italian directorate of management control for football. Genoa and Bari are suspected of having carried out "financial doping" in order to validate their accounts, and thus be able to receive licences for the Italian professional leagues. The three clubs all have a contract with the agency Infront Italy to manage their marketing and publicity rights.

In the case of Bari, Italian justice is interested in a payment of €470,000 from Infront Italy late in the 2014-15 season, which allowed the club to pay its players and thus avoid sanctions from Covisoc. Gianluca Paparesta explained, on 12/10/2015, that this amount corresponded to sponsorship revenue for the secondary shirt of the club, "absolutely proportional to the market price".

Regarding Genoa CFC, Italian…