ROME — Lazio is facing the possibility of a six-point deduction, and captain Stefano Mauri could be suspended for 4½ years following the start of their match-fixing trial Wednesday. Prosecutor Stefano Palazzi has also asked for Lazio to be fined 20,000 euros ($26,000) and for Genoa and Lecce to be docked three points each. Mauri is one of eight players accused of rigging games and failing to report match-fixing for two Serie A games — Lazio vs. Genoa and Lecce vs. Lazio in May 2011. Palazzi has requested the 33-year-old Mauri be handed the heaviest sentence, a 54-month ban. Palazzi has recommended bans ranging from 12-42 months for Omar Milanetto, Massimiliano Benassi, Antonio Rosati, Stefano Ferrario, Mario Cassano and Alessandro Zamperini. Carlo Gervasoni plea-bargained for a 2-month reduction on his previous sentence. Lazio, Genoa and Lecce have been charged with “objective responsibility.” The trial will continue into Thursday, with sentencing expected next week. At least 50 people have been arrested in Italy for match-fixing since mid-2011, with matches under investigation by prosecutors in Cremona, Bari and Napoli. At the beginning of the month, Serie B club Bari plea-bargained for a one-point penalty for match-fixing. Bari was also fined 25,000 euros ($32,000) under the deal made with the Italian federation's disciplinary committee for arranging two matches, while several former players also reached plea bargains. This marks the third consecutive offseason that point penalties have been handed out by the federation. Four Serie A clubs were penalized last season. World Cup winner Santos dies at 84 Djalma Santos, a trusty right back who won two World Cups with Brazil and was widely considered one of the country's greatest defenders, has died after a battle with pneumonia. He was 84. “Brazilian football has lost one of its idols,” said Jose Marin, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation. “Djalma Santos was an admirable player who was loved by fans of all teams not just for the quality of his football but for his discipline and loyalty.” The fullback was a contemporary of Pele and Garrincha and played for the Selecao when they won the World Cup for the first time in Sweden in 1958. — Agencies
