Serie B club being investigated over mafia links
Italian second-tier soccer club SS Juve Stabia has been placed under judicial administration for alleged mafia infiltration, Italian prosecutors and police said.
Juve Stabia are based in Castellammare di Stabia, close to the city of Naples where Italy's Camorra crime group has its roots. The team sits in seventh spot in the Serie B league.
Extensive investigations "uncovered a system of mafia-style influence over the economic activities of the football club" by a local Camorra clan, Naples prosecutors, police and the national anti-mafia prosecutor said in a joint statement.
In response, Juve Stabia said the allegations referred to external suppliers, and said none of its shareholders and current management were suspected of ties to criminal groups.
"The club intends to embrace the mission of the judicial administrators and work with them to terminate all supply or collaboration relationships with companies and individuals deemed 'suspicious'," it said, adding that there was no threat of sporting sanctions.
Brera Holdings SMLT.O, an Ireland-based holding company listed on Nasdaq and focused on expanding its portfolio of football teams through a multi-club ownership (MCO) strategy, bought a 52 percent stake in the club in June.
People tied to the Camorra's D'Alessandro clan controlled club activities including ticketing, catering, cleaning, healthcare and even, until last year, travel services for the first team, prosecutors and police said.
"Players just had to play, while the Camorra took care of the rest," Naples prosecutor Nicola Gratteri told a press conference.
"It was a complete, all-round package", he said.
Judicial administration allows the club to continue its sporting activities, but places it under the supervision of court-appointed administrators for a year.
Prosecutors in the southern Italian region of Calabria took the same step against third-tier club Crotone last month, one of a series of investigations into alleged infiltration of soccer clubs' activities and hardline fan groups by organised crime.
