Italian prosecutors on Wednesday called for Napoli and the club’s owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, to stand trial for false accounting related to transfers, including that of Serie A title hero, Victor Osimhen.
Napoli, De Laurentiis, and one of his key advisers, Andrea Chiavelli, are suspected by prosecutors in Rome of filing falsified accounts between 2019 and 2021. Their investigation focuses on the signings of Kostas Manolas from Roma and Osimhen from Lille.
The €70 million deal for Nigerian striker Osimhen — now on loan at Galatasaray — in 2020 raised concerns due to four players, valued at around €20 million, moving to Lille, three of whom never played for the French club.
Napoli and De Laurentiis’ lawyers described the decision to request a trial as “incomprehensible.”
“In the documents, there are opinions from consultants and independent bodies that demonstrate incontrovertibly that Napoli acted legitimately and in compliance with Italian accounting principles,” said Fabio Fulgeri and Lorenzo Contrada.
“We are convinced that the proceedings will conclude positively for Napoli and De Laurentiis.”
A preliminary hearing judge will decide within six months whether the alleged offences warrant a criminal trial, which could take years to complete.
However, a source at Napoli told AFP that documents in the prosecutors’ trial request had already been ruled as containing no incriminating evidence by disciplinary authorities at Italy’s football federation (FIGC).
The source stated that there is “no chance” of Napoli being penalised by the FIGC, even if the club were eventually found guilty in criminal courts, and added that they were confident a trial would not take place.
Osimhen was a key player in Napoli’s Serie A title-winning campaign—the club’s first since the Diego Maradona era—as they secured the Scudetto with five matches to spare in 2023.
Teaming up with breakout star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Osimhen scored 26 Serie A goals that season, cementing his status as one of the world’s best strikers.
However, he soon expressed a desire to leave, stating publicly that he wanted to play in the English Premier League. After failing to secure a transfer last summer, he was frozen out before being loaned to Galatasaray in September.
Osimhen’s move to Italy was one of several transfers investigated by the FIGC, but all defendants, including Napoli and De Laurentiis, were acquitted in April 2022.
However, the probe unearthed wider concerns, leading to Juventus being deducted 10 points just over a year later after being found guilty of manipulating capital gains from transfers to artificially benefit their balance sheet.
Juventus were sanctioned following new evidence from a separate criminal investigation — codenamed “Operation Prism” — into the club’s financial practices.
Several Juventus officials, including former chairman Andrea Agnelli, received lengthy bans from football and await a decision next month on whether they will face a criminal trial.
Credit: punchng.com
