体坛英语新闻：England manager Capello faces perjury probe

BEIJING, May 8 -- England coach Fabio Capello and former Juventus chief executive Antonio Giraudo are being investigated for alleged perjury.

    The move by Rome prosecutors comes after Capello and Giraudo testified in March at the corruption trial of the Gea World player agency, which was run by the son of Luciano Moggi, the former Juventus general manager who is at the heart of the scandal.

    "We haven't heard or been informed of anything, but that's normal," Capello's son and manager, Pierfilippo Capello, said. "There is nothing new from when we first heard about this two months ago. We'll take action and offer an explanation when it is necessary."

    Capello coached Juventus from 2004-06 and, according to the text of his testimony, repeatedly said he didn't remember nor know of any details of the scandal.

    Prosecutor Luca Palamara said then that Capello could not hide "behind the 'I don't remember' line."

England manager Fabio Capello watches as David Beckham is substituted during their international friendly against France at the Stade de France in Paris, March 26, 2008

    Capello resigned from Juventus in 2006 and the club's two titles won during his time were revoked. While Capello was not charged before a sports court for direct involvement in the scandal, Giraudo was banned from soccer for five years.

    Juventus was relegated to the second division for its role in the scandal.

    "I never knew of pressure on players or cases related to contracts with players. At Roma, and then at Juventus when I was coach, I was only concerned with coaching choices," Capello told the court in March.

    The English Football Association meanwhile said it expects the Italian to take England at least to the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup or Euro 2012.

    Capello, who took charge of England in January following its failure to qualify for next month's Euro 2008 finals, has so far won one match and lost another.

    But the 61-year-old veteran coach said he was confident of achieving the goals set out in the 50-page review entitled The FA's Vision 2008-12.

    "I think the team I have at the moment is capable of achieving these targets," Capello said.

    "I believe you must always be positive. My personal objective every time I have coached and managed has been to get to the top."

    "It is no surprise that these targets have been set and we should be confident with them."