Gaucci buys out Napoli
Saturday 7 August, 2004


Luciano Gaucci has officially bought Napoli, abandoning his rent plan, but it’s
still not enough to keep the club in Serie B.

SSC Napoli was declared bankrupt and ruled out of entering the Serie B
Championship this week with mounting debts. Perugia patron Gaucci had tried to
‘rent’ the side, thereby getting around rules preventing one man owning two
clubs in the same division.

The bankruptcy tribunal asked for more guarantees, so late last night he put pen
to paper on a contract to buy Napoli for £30m to be paid over the next five
years.

However, the FIGC has again made it clear this will not be enough to keep the
fallen giants in Serie B after failing to register their finances in time.

President Franco Carraro, supported by the CONI arbitration commission, insist
that there are now only two options open to Napoli: to register for the Lodo
Petrucci rule before August 12 and drop down to Serie C1 or start all over again
in the amateur division.

The Mayor of Naples and several MP’s have been actively begging for help from
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, but following last summer’s chaos in Serie B,
the various sporting bodies now seem determined to stick together and ensure
their rules are respected.