Rome prosecutors issued an arrest warrant Friday for
nine people including former Italy forward Giorgio Chinaglia on
charges of extortion and insider trading at Serie A club Lazio.
Chinaglia, who helped the Rome-based club win its first Italian
title in 1974, is wanted in connection with an alleged attempt to
influence the price of Lazio shares over the last six months, the
prosecutor's office in Rome said Friday.
The 59-year-old former Lazio president was allegedly trying to
oust current club president Claudio Lotito in a takeover bid backed
by a Hungarian investment group, according to Italian reports.
Lotito is being investigated by the prosecutor's office in Milan
in a separate case of insider trading, involving the sale of Lazio
stock in 2005, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Lazio, which is already embroiled in Italy's match-fixing scandal
_ involving Juventus, AC Milan and Fiorentina _ is traded on the
Milan stock exchange. Trading in Lazio stock had not yet opened
Friday.
Chinaglia, who lives in the United States and played alongside
Pele and Franz Beckenbauer for the New York Cosmos in the North
American Soccer League in the 1970s, could not be reached for
comment.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
