Lazio's Yugoslav defender Sinisa Mihajlovic was yesterday reported to be under police investigation on charges of incitement to racial hatred, according to the Milan-based daily, Corriere Della Sera. The investigation is linked to the now infamous exchange of insults between Mihajlovic and Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira during Arsenal's 1-1 Champions League draw with Lazio at the Olympic Stadium in Rome in October.

After that game, Vieira had complained that Mihajlovic had shouted racist insults at him throughout the match, insults that were echoed by the racist chants of a section of the Lazio fans.

By way of self-defence, Mihajlovic told reporters the next day: "What Vieira says is not true. I didn't call him a monkey. It's true that I did call him a black shit but that's not the same as calling him a negro shit, is it? He called me a gypsy shit and that was my way of replying . . .

"I'm not racist and I have nothing against blacks . . . but if he is going to start dishing it out then he's got to be ready to take it, too."

More than a self-justification, Mihajlovic's words sounded like a self-condemnation, even if he did add that certain things said in the heat of the moment in a tense match should not be given a literal interpretation. Not surprisingly, the current police investigation is focused not only on Mihajlovic's alleged racist behaviour on the pitch during the game but also on his subsequent self-defence.

If found guilty under the terms of 1975 and 1993 legislation, Mihajlovic could face up to three years in prison. Furthermore, on the basis of the ongoing investigation alone, police authorities have the right to ban Mihajlovic from attending sports grounds, as of now.

In reality, it is most unlikely that the authorities will exercise this option, just as it is even more unlikely that Mihajlovic would receive anything more than a symbolic suspended sentence if the case came to court. Under the Italian legal system, Mihajlovic can be brought to court only after the judge at a preliminary hearing decides there is a genuine case to be answered.

Yesterday's newspaper report also threw a further unflattering light on Mihajlovic. It claimed that police investigators believe that it was Mihajlovic who called on a small group of Lazio fans to display a banner in memory of the indicted war criminal "Arkan" shortly after his assassination during Lazio's Serie A game against Bari at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on January 30th.

The banner prompted a nationwide furore in Italy. The interior minister issued a decree empowering police to suspend a game until such time as offensive banners could be removed.

Mihajlovic found an unlikely ally yesterday over his abuse of Vieira in Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, who said that police should stay out of football.

Wenger said it would be wrong to sentence the Lazio player. "I prefer things to remain in the hands of football's authorities and I can't see why the police should get involved," said Wenger. "I don't think somebody should go to jail if someone says something in the heat of a game.

"My personal opinion is that legal action should not be taken, but I think the decision rests solely in the hands of Patrick Vieira. I don't really know what happened during the game or that the police had got involved."

On the home front, Wenger said he was still confident of agreeing a new contract with Dutch international forward Dennis Bergkamp, adding he was not interested in signing Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler.

"Until the transfer system changes I don't think I ever will make a move for him. I have four top class strikers at the moment and I have a problem keeping them happy."

One of the four, Thierry Henry, was yesterday named French footballer of the year by France Football. Henry beat Juventus playmaker Zinedine Zidane in the poll of the soccer weekly's journalists at the end of a year in which world champions France won the European title.