ROME, April 20 - Christian Vieri is planning to
sue his former club Inter Milan over allegations that they
employed a firm of private investigators to spy into his
personal life, his lawyer said on Friday.
Danilo Buongiorno said the 33-year-old striker was seeking
nine million euros from the Serie A club, as compensation for
"moral, existential, image, and patrimonial damages".
He was seeking a further 12 million euros from Telecom
Italia, added Buongiorno, over allegations that the staff at the
telecommunications company passed on information about his phone
calls to the investigators.
Vieri played for Inter between 1999 and 2005, scoring 103
goals in 144 games. He now plays for Atalanta, who host Inter in
Serie A on Sunday.
His warm relations with his former club were poisoned last
September, however, when the Italian Football Federation's
office of investigation opened a probe into claims that Inter
had spied on Vieri and former referee Massimo De Santis, the
referee found guilty of attempting to influence the results of
Serie A matches in last year's match-fixing scandal.
The initial hearing is due to take place on May 2.