If it isn't already, Serie A is in danger of becoming the weakest of Europe's five major championships as players queue up to leave. Once it was the other way round.
Apart from the clubs mentioned by Matthew, all the others must start with safety as teir aim, though Siena, starting at -6, and Pescara, without Zeman and the heart of last year's team, must be favourites for the drop. And of course we still don't yet know how many other clubs may receive points penalties.
If they continue to behave as arrogantly as they are at the moment, Juventus are unlikely to receive sympathetic treatment from CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee, when their final appeal against Conte's suspension is heard. CONI President Gianni Petrucci has made it clear that he is fed up with the behaviour of clubs who don't get the verdict they wanted.
As for Antonio Conte, I saw the AlbinoLeffe-Siena game for which he is indicted, and I can only say that when I was leaving, I met a friend by chance and we both agreed that it had been fixed, which we now know to be the case. If we could see it, it's hard to believe that the coaches of the two teams couldn't.
We need to remember that the game was played before the scandal broke on June 1st 2011. And when it did, it was a bolt from the blue. Maybe Conte knew something was up, but regarded it as 'normal'. His cynical smile when AlbinoLeffe's goal went in would seem to bear this out.
In a press conference yesterday, he defended himself with great passion. He is either a very good actor, or he has a genuine grievance. But others, e.g. Cristiano Doni, have mounted an equally passionate defence before being unmasked as serial liars. At the very least, Conte is 'guilty' of not knowing what was going on in the dressing room he was supposed to command.
