Note To Youth Soccer: Keep An Eye On Your Treasurer

Mrs. AC would say "only in Florida" at a story like this. But I don't think a treasurer using a company/group as an ATM is particular to the Sunshine State, even though a lot of 'effed up stuff happens there.

If this is her mug shot, I'm not really sure what she's smiling about.

Soccer Mom Accused Of Stealing League's Cash [WESH.com]

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Italy's Teflon Don

There are certain givens in life: death, taxes, and so on. In Italy, there's one that's particular to the country: Milan owner and ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will never see any criminal charges bring him down, at least in his lifetime. The news today is that he got off on corruption charges dating back to the 1980s.

You'd be forgiven for seeing today's headline and thinking, "didn't I see that article already?" Yeah, you have here, here, etc.

For a man who has at various times compared himself to Napoleon, Churchill, and Jesus Christ, Berlusconi has skirted charges concerning the bribing of a judge, false accounting (concerning Milan transfers), tax fraud, illegal political financing, and the bribing of government financial inspectors.

Teflon indeed.

Berlusconi acquittal confirmed [ANSA]
Berlusconi cleared of corruption [BBC]
Berlusconi cleared of corruption [BBC]
Berlusconi granted immunity [BBC]

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I'm Not Calling Soccer In Italy Dirty, But...

Things can't be all that clean either. According to a recently released annual report by Confesercenti, a major business association in Italy, the four main mafia groups in the country together take in about $126B a year (yes, that's more than Italy's largest companies), amounting to an astonishing 7% of Italy's gross domestic product. Most of the money is "earned" through drugs, extortion, loan sharking and prostitution, though the estimate excludes the revenues from the sale of drugs.

Is it naive to believe that some of that money isn't derived from gambling and match-fixing?

Organised crime does pay in Italy - to the tune of €90bn [Guardian]
Italy's in the Global Fortune 500 [CNN]

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What Not To Say To A Chinese Soldier

No matter how tempted you might be, don't ask a Chinese military officer if he's called a miss to serve him. It seems that in China, "miss" is often used as a euphemism for prostitutes. Talk like that will get you thrown off of China's Olympic team.

China suspends two soccer players for lewd question [Guardian]

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Citizens Keeping Their Fingers Crossed

With Thai prosecutors feeling out the extradition waters in London, Manchester City owner and ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is digging in his heels. And from the look of it, holding firm seems like the right move for Shinawatra and Thailand. Just yesterday, the country's National Security Council decided to lift martial law in 11 provinces and reimpose it in three other provinces, in a move that will take effect after it receives cabinet approval on Tuesday. As the AP reports, the military government:

rarely if ever exercised its powers under martial law, instead using the measure as a threat against possible opponents, such as supporters of Thaksin [Shinawatra], who was ousted in the bloodless Sept. 19 coup. The measure mainly empowered the military to be in charge of security and make arrests without warrants in the name of maintaining order.

How that squares with today's other big news remains to be seen. The opposition, the People Power party, drew around 25,000 people for its first major rally in Bangkok where the party promised to continue the legacy of ousted prime minister Shinawatra. It's a good bet that the fortunes of City's wealthy benefactor are intrinsically tied to the survival of democracy in Thailand. If the military and it's puppets win the proposed elections in December, Shinawatra's only hope could very well be the British government.

More importantly, if convicted of any crime, Shinawatra could be barred from owning a Premiership football club. And that would kind of put a damper on City's season, wouldn't it?

Thai prosecutors in London to press for Shinawatra extradition [Guardian]
Martial law ends in 11 provinces, returns in 3 [Bangkok Post]
Thai government to partially lift martial law imposed after 2006 coup [International Herald Tribune]

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Oh, So Close

Yet again, Juventus threw away a comfortable lead yesterday as Vicenza fought back from two goals down to tie the game in the span of six minutes. Although they remain top of Serie B, even on points with Napoli, you can just imagine how the Turin giants are feeling right now. Juve have shown an disconcerting tendency to run out of steam in the final 15-20 minutes this season and it was no different at the Stadio Menti.

Didier Deschamps was less than pleased:

The blame lies with us. We lost our concentration and their first goal really rattled us, it's like we thought they’d already drawn level. After going two goals up, you can't just throw away two points like that. We're not 100 per cent at the back, but that cannot be used as an excuse. We were 2-0 up and were caught. There was an incredibly passive approach from my men on the two goals and you cannot afford that, not even in Serie B. I don't like the attitude that I keep seeing from everyone when we take the lead. We think we have the game in hand and change our style, sitting back and allowing our opponents to come forward. We really need to start winning away from home if we're going to open up a gap at the top of the table.

As noted above, the result leaves the Bianconeri level at the top of the table with Napoli on 40 points. Mantova, Bologna, and Genoa are all joint-second, three points back. Deschamps' side host southern team Crotone next week at the Olimpico. [International Herald Tribune, Channel 4, Juventus official site]

In other Juve news:

• Do you think that Mrs. Moggi and Mrs. Lippi will carpool to prison on family-visit day? [BBC]
• Gabriel Heinze is happy where he is, thank you very much. [Irish Examiner]
• Fashion always has a place in Italian soccer. [Juventus official site]

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