Soccer-Italian government plans to oversee finances sparks turf war

ROME (Reuters) - A plan by the Italian government to appoint a watchdog to oversee the finances of professional sports clubs set off a public row on Monday with the head of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) and other administrators.

The regulator would have a remit to supervise the "economic and financial management" of clubs in sports such as soccer and basketball to ensure that they were both sound and sustainable, according to excerpts of draft government proposals reviewed by Reuters.