Calciopoli: The Match-Fixing Scandal That Brought Juventus to Its Knees

Calciopoli was a match-fixing investigation often described as the biggest scandal in the history of European football. The affair, which occupied Italian football from top to bottom, was overshadowed by the Azzurri's victory at the 2006 World Cup.

The most dramatic outcome of the scandal was the removal of Juventus, Italy's richest and most trophy-laden club, from Serie A. Because of the club's ties to the Agnelli family, many people believed such a thing could never happen.

Other clubs accused in the case, Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina, each had 30 points deducted in the 2005/06 season but remained in Serie A. Milan finished third despite being reduced to 58 points, which earned them a place in the Champions League.

At the center of the affair was Luciano Moggi. A former railway station master from Tuscany, Moggi was one of the most controversial figures in Italian football for more than twenty years. He began as a talent scout at Juventus, served as sporting director at Roma, Lazio, Torino and Napoli, and returned to Juventus in 1994. While he was at Torino, claims surfaced that he had supplied prostitutes to referees during UEFA Cup matches, which Moggi denied. His survival of many investigations earned him the nickname 'Lucky Luciano'.

As trophies piled up at Juventus, rival clubs and players suspected that Moggi was using his wide network of contacts to influence results. However, no one could prove it. Later, the findings of the Italian Football Federation's arbitration showed that these suspicions were not entirely unfounded. According to the arbitration, Moggi made more than 400 phone calls a day to control referees, and he also exerted influence over federation officials and television presenters.