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ANSA, Wednesday, July 19, 2006 5:10 PM
In Florence, they're using images of Medieval poet Dante Alighieri as a rhetorical device to show the Italian Soccer Federation that they city's favorite club, Fiorentina, is innocent of the match
fixing charges of which it was found guilty. A 3-D image of the renowned poet presents a new video detailing how Fiorentina was merely a victim in a scandal that went far deeper than the club's own
modest attempts to attract "fair treatment" from match officials. The Florentines say it was Juventus, the Torino club that somehow always managed to be on the favorable side of close calls, who lay
at the center of the far-reaching scandal that has enveloped no less than four top Serie A clubs. To be sure, Juventus received the harshest punishment of all the clubs from the sports tribunal that
found them guilty of match-fixing: Juve was relegated to Serie B and deducted 30 points to start next season. For its part, Fiorentina was also relegated to Serie B, but was deducted only 12 points.
All of the clubs have been banned from European competition next season. The Dante video points to alleged "injustices" suffered by the Florence club last season. On Monday, Fiorentina fans blocked
trains at the Florence train station for several hours, disrupting rail service in protest of the findings. The Dante video can be seen on Florence's tourist Web site: www.florence.tv.
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