Italian prosecutors probe Mediaset unit, Infront executives over TV rights

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors are investigating executives at the RTI Italian TV arm of broadcaster Mediaset and football rights firm Infront over alleged irregularities in the assignment of Serie A football rights last year, a search warrant showed.





The prosecutors allege that Infront and RTI executives colluded to violate competition laws and favour Mediaset, which is controlled by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, in an auction for the sale of broadcasting rights for the 2015-2018 seasons, according to the warrant.

Finance police used the warrant, seen by Reuters, to search RTI and Infront's Italian offices as well as those of the Italian league and some football clubs last Friday, judicial sources said.

The Milan inquiry comes at a time of deepening turmoil for football's governing body FIFA, whose president Sepp Blatter was suspended for 90 days over a corruption scandal last week along with UEFA president Michel Platini, pending a full probe.

Both men have denied any wrongdoing, and the Italian investigation is not connected with FIFA.

Infront's president and CEO is Philippe Blatter, the nephew of the FIFA chief. His name has not appeared in any of the Italian prosecutor documents seen by Reuters.

Infront said in a statement on Tuesday that the chairman of its Italian operation, Marco Bogarelli, and two other Italian executives were being investigated for allegedly manipulating the rights auction, which took place in June last year.

It said the three were also being investigated for allegedly helping at least two football clubs by giving them money to meet financial requirements set by the regulators.

"Infront as a company is not facing a formal probe in these subject matters," the statement said, adding that it was cooperating with the authorities.

Mediaset, in a separate statement, said it and its executives had always acted in an appropriate manner and fully respected the law. It said its business dealings with Infront were transparent.

According to the search warrant, Mediaset CFO Marco Giordani, who is also chief executive of RTI, and RTI sports right chief Giorgio Govetti are under investigation in the probe. A lawyer representing the two declined to comment on the case, saying he was still studying the documents.

Mediaset and Sky Italia, part of Sky Plc, were awarded the rights last year to share broadcasting of top tier Italian football until 2018 following an auction that was delayed by legal complaints from rivals.

The sale was worth 945 million euros a season.









(Reporting by Emilio Parodi; Writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)


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