An example for the many young people who wish to take the same path
For years his initiative, his passion and his very high level of skills are helping to write important pages of Italian sports justice: one particular that of lawyer Eduardo Chiacchio who, already as a professional C series player in business, since the 80 years arrives in the halls of the Sports Courts, collecting a series of judicial successes that have given him a certain visibility at the media level, as well as prestigious awards at national and international level.
Avv. Chiacchio, you were a footballer before becoming a lawyer. How was your passion for the legal profession born and in particular for sports justice?
I played soccer until the age of 29, wearing several teams of C-series teams. Being a professional player, before embarking on the legal profession, helped me a lot: already on the playing field I was an important player point of reference for my teammates. Although I love the world of football very much, my tenacity gave me the strength to complete my studies, obtaining a degree in law with honors from the Federico II University of Naples. It was March 18, 1981 and a few days later, due to a strange case of destiny, the famous law n. 91 which eliminated the sporting link between companies and professional athletes. It was an epochal turning point that marked my destiny as a lawyer in sports law.
You have spent with passion and determination for many companies and many players: what was the most difficult case to defend in the National Federal Court?
Certainly the Italian football scandal of the years 2011 and 2012, which involved many players, executives and companies of Serie A, Serie B and Lega Pro. One of the saddest pages of Italian football history. The main accusation against the suspects was that of criminal association aimed at fraud and sport fraud. In that line of investigation, among others, the Albinoleffe company of Bergamo defended, for which the Public Prosecutor asked for 27 points of penalization for nine contested sporting offenses: a request for a single penalty in the history of sporting justice. Thanks to my work (I succeeded in proving that the club had been damaged by the illegal behavior of its members who had implemented crime strategies to deliberately tear the potential), after three degrees of judgment, the penalty points were reduced to 4. Other very controversial case was that he saw at the center of the judicial chronicles the Football Naples and the goalkeeper Matteo Gianello, accused of attempted illicit in the match Sampdoria-Naples of 2010. With my intuition I managed to get, in the degree of appeal before the Court of Justice, the dereliction of the offense from a sporting offense violating the principles of sporting loyalty. Therefore, one of the most discussed events in the recent history of SSC Napoli ended positively, with the revocation of the penalization of two points in the ranking imposed by the Disciplinary.
Recently in Avellino they asked for his beatification, after the double acquittal from the charge of illegal sport charged to the top managers of the irpino club and with the total rejection of the request for immediate relegation formulated in a trial by the Federal Prosecutor. As a successful lawyer, what would you advise young people who wish to pursue their own profession?
To pursue their dreams with audacity and determination, not to give up at the first difficulties and to believe in their abilities. Having been fortunate to achieve extraordinary goals, I would like to be a stimulus and an example for the many young people who mistakenly believe that success is the exclusive prerogative of certain powers. It is not so. In life there are no unattainable goals or goals too ambitious: anyone can reach the summit, scoring the goal of victory. The secret is to fight firmly, exceeding your limits and never giving up because, wanting to use a metaphor, a real winner always wants the ball when the game is on the line.
More info (avv.eduardochiacchio@virgilio.it)
