Italian football scandal hearing

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A judge in Italy has held the first hearing into the case of 37 officials being investigated for their part in last year's match-fixing scandal.

The judge is to decide whether the men are to face criminal charges.

Intercepted telephone conversations made by the man at the centre of the scandal - former Juventus director Luciano Moggi - are being assessed.

The former director was not in court. He denies charges of wrongdoing.

He has been banned from football for five years by a sports court for influencing the outcome of matches.

'Normal conversations'

The new set of transcripts were handed in by prosecutors during Saturday's hearing in the city of Naples, officials said.

They concern phone calls between October 2006 and March 2007.

"I don't think [the new documents] regard offences but I have not read the papers yet," Mr Moggi's lawyer Paolo Trofino said.

"It seems to me they are normal contacts between Moggi and his collaborators but it is necessary to see what's in the documents. Moggi talks to anyone."

The next hearing was adjourned to 8 February.

As part of the sports trial, Juventus were stripped of two Serie A titles and relegated to Serie B with a nine-point penalty. They have since rejoined Serie A.

Four other Serie A clubs - AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina - were forced to begin last season with point penalties for their roles in the match-fixing scandal.