England coach Fabio Capello will face a full investigation into whether he withheld information to an Italian court, judicial sources said on Wednesday.
An Italian prosecutor said on March 31 he intended to bring a case against Capello after he gave evidence in a trial of six men accused of fostering unfair competition through the use of threats or violence as part of Italy's Gea World sports agency.
Now after weeks of reviewing transcripts of Capello's evidence, the prosecutor has confirmed he will go ahead with an investigation which could lead to the former AC Milan and Juventus coach being charged and facing trial.
Under Italian law, a person found guilty of false testimony in court can be jailed for up to six years.
"We have heard from Italy that the prosecutor in this case wants to further investigate Mr. Capello. The key point for us is that this is a private matter and we have no comment to make," an English Football Association spokesman said.
After the prosecutor's comments in March, Capello and his lawyers said they were surprised by the developments and were confident everything would be cleared up.
When Capello took to the witness stand in March, he repeatedly said he could not remember details and said he had no involvement with Gea, which managed the careers of several top players in Italy.
Former Juventus director Antonio Giraudo is also under investigation after evidence he gave to the trial, which is still ongoing, contrasted with that of Juve striker David Trezeguet.
Former Juve general manager Luciano Moggi, at the centre of Italy's 2006 match-fixing affair, and his son Alessandro, head of Gea, are among the defendants. Davide Lippi, son of former Italy coach Marcello, is also on trial.
Capello worked under Moggi at Juventus from 2004 until 2006, when the Turin club were demoted because of the match-fixing scandal and Moggi was banned from football for five years.
Capello and his family are separately being investigated for alleged tax fraud by prosecutors in Turin. The 61-year-old, who took over as England coach in December, has said his finances are in order.
(Writing by Mark Meadows in Milan additional reporting by Mike Collett in London, editing by Justin Palmer)
