Serie A club Juventus coach Antonio Conte will face a sporting trial for match-fixing after an attempt to reach a plea bargain "broke down" when the football federation's prosecutor demanded he be banned for 15 months, according to REUTERS. Conte, who led Juventus to the Serie A title last season, is accused of "failing to report match-fixing" in two games in the '10-11 season when he was coach of Siena, then in Serie B. The Italian football federation (FIGC) tribunal said Wednesday a proposed three-month ban agreed between Conte's lawyers and the federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi was "insufficient." On Thursday, "frantic negotiations" failed. Juventus President Andrea Agnelli then "blasted the federation," accusing it of incompetence and launching an unjustified "new attack" on the club. In a statement, Agnelli said, "It appears that the FIGC and its system of sporting justice continue to operate in complete disregard of law and equality." The FIGC then issued a reply defending itself. It said, "The FIGC and its organisations operate with integrity and within full compliance of the statutory rules, which guarantee the independence and autonomy of the sporting justice." The federation said that it "aims to reach a verdict in the Conte case" by Friday (REUTERS, 8/3).
