FIGC investigate dual ownership claim

Napoli president Giorgio Corbelli made the allegation against the Tanzi family after Parma lost 2-1 at home to relegation-threatened Verona on Sunday in a surprise result which boosted Verona's chances of staying in Serie A. The result was bad for Napoli, who drew 2-2 with league leaders AS Roma and need to win their final match of the season at Fiorentina next weekend to avoid relegation. Corbelli was reported to the Italian league's disciplinary commission on Monday for suggesting Parma might have let Verona beat them. Parma have strongly denied the allegation. Corbelli suggested that Parma, who had nothing to play for having already secured a place in next season's European Champions League, might have let Verona win because the two northern clubs had unusually close ties. Verona president Giambattista Pastorello is a former employee of the Tanzi family, which owns Parma and the powerful food and dairy company Parmalat. Pastorello rejected the suggestion that the Tanzi family owned his club. "Ask my players who pays them," he said. Corbelli said the business links between the two clubs needed investigating by the FIGC and added that if found guilty of double-ownership Parma and Verona should be relegated. "The truth is that Verona were created with the initial financing of the Tanzi family, who have conserved an interest in Pastorello's club," Corbelli said. "That is against the rules and we need to take action about this double interest of Parma's. "The rules do not allow an owner to have two clubs. There should be an investigation and both clubs should be relegated to Serie B." The FIGC investigation will address article 16 of its rule book, which states two clubs in the same division may not have the same owner.