Passport Scandal.

According to Argentine newspaper Clarín, a new major scandal is about to rock the football world.

Reportedly a network had been set up to obtain false Italian passports in order to facilitate Argentine players' transfers to European clubs. The investigation started last november on input from the Italian Consulate in Buenos Aires: at least 110 raids have been conducted up until now all over the country and 24 people have been arrested.

Italian Consul in Buenos Aires, Giancarlo Curcio, spoke to Ansa earlier today, stating that he 'personally lodged a complaint with the authorities, after growing wary of the existence of an organization that provided false documents to become Italian citizens.'

Among the players named by the newspapers as potentially involved in the case, there are two new Serie A faces, goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo and forward German Denis (signed by Lazio and Napoli respectively), Real Madrid's new defender Juan Forlin and Boca Juniors' keeper Maximiliano Scaparo.

There are also a number of influential South American transfer market gurus and agents embroiled in the scandal: Jorge Cyterszpiler, Leonardo Rodriguez, Gustavo Mascardi, Fernando Hidalgo and Pablo Sabbag.

But sources from within Napoli and Lazio have already assured that this probe is not gonna affect them, since the two have been registered as non-EU players.

A similar investigation had shaken Italian football in the 2000-2001 season, with top names such as Alvaro Recoba, Juan Veron and Dida involved.

Italian football and scandals : what a big surprise

And rightly so, there needs to be a crackdown on this.

The Veron and Recoba passport scandal of 2001 should have been the last of it.

Racists

if a professional footballer, paying hundreds of thousands of pounds in tax isn't welcome in your country then perhaps you'd prefer to make up the difference out of your own pocket?

The law in this case is an ass and fair play to anyone who cheats it. An Argentine of any respected profession paying less tax would receive a work permit in a heartbeat.

The new passport scam unravelled in Argentina has caused a frenzy in Italy. While newspapers print the names of potential players embroiled in the scandal, the clubs rush to quell rumours, including now Catania.

Passaportopoli, as they call it in the peninsula, promises to be an interesting topic of conversation on sunny Italian beaches this summer, since the media coverage is gaining momentum.

The latest development has seen federal judge Norberto Oyarbide state that the real masterminds were in Italy, where over 700 procedures were started by submitting fake data.

According to the Argentine press, at least 150 football players are implicated and several teams' headquarters have been raided, as well as agents' offices. Buenos Aires was not the only focal point of the investigation: police officers were also in action in Santa Fe and Mar del Plata.

The player's names mentioned in the papers are those of Gonzalo Bergessio, Ariel Broggi, Gabriel Paletta, Jesus Datolo, Pablo Ledesma, Juan Pablo Carrizo, German Denis, Juan Forlin, Maximiliano Scaparoni, Mauro Boselli and Sebastian Alberto Battaglia. The documents were reportedly available in 30 days by shelling out at least €30k.

After Napoli hastily denied any involvement of German Denis in the case, today it was the turn of Catania's CEO, Pietro Lo Monaco, to reject any accusations regarding new recruit Pablo Ledesma.

"I don't know why he is being named. He only has an Argentine passport," he blasted.

he blasted?

Cesc Soler wrote:And rightly so, there needs to be a crackdown on this.

The Veron and Recoba passport scandal of 2001 should have been the last of it.

Sylvinho?

And who can forget the Graeme Murty scandal?