Italy's biggest soccer trial made a second false start yesterday when a series of legal objections raised by defence lawyers prevented questioning of the four top clubs and 26 officials who are facing match-fixing charges.

Champions Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina risk being thrown out of the top Serie A league as well as European competition if found guilty of conspiring with referees to fix matches.

Tribunal president Cesare Ruperto adjourned the trial after about three hours to consider objections raised in the morning session.

It was due to restart late in the afternoon, but eventually reconvened in the evening, too late to prevent another day slipping by without questioning and the trial is now due to resume this morning.

The trial at Rome's Olympic Stadium opened last Thursday, but was immediately adjourned to yesterday to allow five Serie B clubs hoping for promotion - Bologna, Brescia, Lecce, Messina and Treviso - to prepare their cases.

The trial was originally expected to deliver verdicts on July 10th, the day after the World Cup final in Berlin, but after the latest delay some commentators are already saying that date looks ambitious.

The delays have raised fears that the trial - and the appeals process that will follow - will overrun the deadline of July 27th set by Uefa for the Italian Football Federation to submit the list of teams

to compete in next season's Champions League and Uefa Cup competitions.

The atmosphere at the Olympic Stadium was more low-key after the hype surrounding the trial's opening day last Thursday.

The man at the centre of the scandal - former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi - was again absent.