Irish-linked Italian Serie B club placed under court control for mafia infiltration

People tied to the Camorra's D'Alessandro clan controlled club activities including ticketing, catering, cleaning, healthcare and even, until last year, travel services for the first team, prosecutors said

Judicial administration allows the club to continue its sporting activities, but places it under the supervision of court-appointed administrators.

Italian second-tier soccer club SS Juve Stabia, which is owned by a Dublin-headquartered holding company, has been placed under judicial administration for alleged mafia infiltration, Italian prosecutors and police said on Tuesday.

Juve Stabia are based in Castellammare di Stabia, close to the city of Naples where Italy's Camorra crime group has its roots. The team currently sits in seventh spot in the Serie B league.

Extensive investigations "uncovered a system of mafia-style influence over the economic activities of the football club" by a local Camorra clan, Naples prosecutors and police and the national anti-mafia prosecutor said in a joint statement.

Juve Stabia's current owners "inherited longstanding economic relationships that were, from the outset, subject to mafia influence," and "failed to implement adequate control and prevention mechanisms in response," the statement said.

Brera Holdings, an Ireland-based holding company listed on Nasdaq and focused on expanding its portfolio of soccer teams through a multi-club ownership (MCO) strategy, bought a 52% stake in the club in June.

Juve Stabia and Brera did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Tuesday, prosecutors and police said people tied to the Camorra's D'Alessandro clan controlled club activities including ticketing, catering, cleaning, healthcare and even, until last year, travel services for the first team.

"Players just had to play, while the Camorra took care of the rest", Naples prosecutor Nicola Gratteri told a press conference.

"It was a complete, all-round package", he said.

Judicial administration allows the club to continue its sporting activities, but places it under the supervision of court-appointed administrators.

The move "aims to restore legality and transparency in management, interrupting the mafia facilitation circuit that had taken root, and returning the club to conditions of autonomy, integrity, and operational compliance," prosecutors and police said.

Prosecutors in the southern Italian region of Calabria took the same step against third-tier club Crotone last month, one of a series of investigations into alleged infiltration of soccer clubs' activities and hardline fan groups by organised crime.

• Reuters