Tell us the truth, Fabio - Lawyer accuses England boss in match-fix case

Capello was appearing as a witness in a court case related to the Italian match-fixing scandal, but after his evidence was publicly questioned he could be charged with an offence that carries a maximum six-year prison sentence.

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On an extraordinary day in a Rome courtroom, Capello's assistant at the Football Association was threatened by the leading defendant and former Juventus general manager, Luciano Moggi.

Franco Baldini, who serves under Capello as England general manager, was giving evidence when Moggi made a gesture with his right arm that suggested what he said could have dire consequences for him.

The Italian judge rebuked Moggi for the gesture and forced him to apologise to Baldini, who is not accused of any wrongdoing but is instead regarded as one of Moggi's chief accusers.

For Capello, and indeed for the FA, yesterday's events were highly embarrassing.

Moggi and Davide Lippi, son of Italian World Cup-winning coach Marcello, are among those accused of using threats, violence and pressure to make players sign for the GEA World sports agency that was run by Moggi's son Alessandro.

The case is directly related to the matchfixing scandal that rocked Italian football two years ago and ended with Capello's former club, Juventus, being demoted to Serie B, while Moggi was banned from football for five years.

Capello, who worked under Moggi at Juventus between 2004 and 2006, and former Juventus director Antonio Giraudo were quizzed on their knowledge of GEA and any involvement with the company.

In court, Capello denied having had relations with the directors of the agency and denied having been put under pressure over the management of players during his time at Juventus and at Roma before that.

But prosecutor Luca Palamara accused both Capello and Giraudo of withholding information.

Palamara grew increasingly frustrated by the fact that Capello kept saying he had no recollection of the events in question.

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Palamara said: "In this court whoever is called to give evidence is obliged to tell the truth so that we can avoid this repetition of 'I don't remembers'."

While it was not clear in court which part of Capello's testimony angered the prosecutor, the England manager said he never dealt with player contracts while in Italy and never heard of players being put under pressure to sign specific agreements.

Last night the FA appeared fairly relaxed about the situation. Officials do not believe Capello's position will be affected and regard it as a private matter.

Lawyers for the Italian, who is also under investigation in Turin for tax evasion, said: "We are surprised by the Public Prosecutor's declaration. Mr Capello was certain he had given all the information required of him. We are confident everything will soon be cleared."