Capello under investigation for alleged perjury

ROME (AP) - England coach Fabio Capello and former Juventus chief executive Antonio Giraudo are being investigated for alleged perjury, Italian media reported Wednesday.

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 was at the heart of the Italian match-fixing scandal.

"We haven't heard or been informed of anything, but that's normal," Capello's son and manager, Pierfilippo Capello, told The Associated Press. "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."

Court officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Prosecutor Luca Palamara said after Capello's testimony in March that he intended to open proceedings against Capello and Giraudo.

Capello's spokesman, Andrea Agostini, said Wednesday that "the court simply formalized the procedure."

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.

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

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.

Sven decision won't be made until after season ends

BEIJING (AP) - Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra says he won't decide whether to fire coach Sven-Goran Eriksson until after the end of the Premier League season.

The former Thai prime minister wouldn't be drawn on whether Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari had been approached about the job, saying he will decide on the club's future after Sunday's season-ending match against Newcastle.

"We have not discussed (it) yet, we will do an evaluation at the end of the season," Thaksin told SNTV in China ahead of the Beijing Open golf tournament. "What needs to be changed, what needs to be added to the success of the club - we will discuss at the end of the season.

"We have not decided (anything) yet."

Scolari's spokesman, Acaz Fellegger, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that City has approached the Brazilian through a person close to the coach, but that negotiations would likely wait until after next month's European Championship.

Eriksson is hugely popular among the players and fans, but Thaksin has publicly voiced his disapproval after the team slumped in the second half of the season.

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has also been linked to the job, but Thaksin would not say which one he preferred.

"They all - Sven, Scolari, Mourinho - they are great coaches, great managers," he said.

Eriksson seems resigned to being fired by Thaksin after just one season, despite fans protesting throughout Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Liverpool.

Eriksson told reporters after the match that the fans' outcry wouldn't be enough to save his job - the first time he publicly acknowledged he was expecting to be terminated.

But City reassured the Thai media Wednesday that Eriksson will lead the team's Asian tour after the English season ends Sunday. Senior players had threatened to boycott the trip if the Swede had been dismissed