Juventus board resigns after phone-tap scandal

MILAN, May 11 (Reuters)

The entire board of Italian championsJuventus has resigned after days of press revelations over embarrassingtelephone interceptions involving its top management.

The Italian Football Federation is investigating the contentof tapped telephone conversations involving Juve general managerLuciano Moggi talking of refereeing appointments for games witha Football Federation official responsible for selecting matchofficials.

'The board has tendered its resignation,' Juventus said,without offering any explanation. The statement said that ageneral assembly of the club's shareholders would be held onJune 29.

Juve's share price fell by almost 10 percent on Thursday.

The case has rapidly snowballed, with public prosecutors inTurin, Rome and Naples now reportedly investigating allegedwidespread malpractice involving referees and several Serie Aclubs.

The president and vice-president of the Football Federation,Franco Carraro and Innocenzo Mazzini, have both resigned theirpositions in the wake of the publication of the taps.

Moggi is at the centre of the probes which are looking intothe operation of the GEA management company headed by his sonAlessandro, which controls the affairs of almost 200 players andcoaches in Italy.

On Wednesday, judicial sources in Turin said that Juve CEOAntonio Giraudo was under investigation for false accountingrelating to player transfer deals.

Giraudo and Moggi are both members of the Juventus board butit was not immediately clear how the resignation of the boardwould effect their full time positions with the club who theyare under contract to.

Juventus is owned by Ifil, the holding company of the FIATgroup.

The club's share price fell by almost 10 percent onThursday.