Fabio Capello could be sent to prison for six years after prosecutors in Italy placed the England manager under investigation for alleged perjury. Luca Palamara, the Rome prosecutor, will look into whether Capello withheld information from an Italian court in March in a trial relating to an agency that managed players and coaches. Six men are accused of putting pressure on players to sign agreements with Gea World, an agency run by Alessandro Moggi, the son of Luciano Moggi, the former Juventus general manager and a defendant in the case.

On March 31 Capello, who coached Juventus from 2004 to 2006, was questioned in relation to the match-fixing scandal that resulted in the club being relegated to Serie B for the 2006-07 season, alongside Moggi and Antonio Giraudo, a former director, but all three repeatedly answered: “I can't remember.”

That led Palamara to warn them that they risked being charged with reticence, which effectively amounts to obstructing the course of justice, and possibly false testimony, or perjury. Under Italian law, a person found guilty of withholding information in court can be jailed for up to six years.

Steve McClaren, the former England head coach, has called on the FA to keep its side of the bargain if his successor is to achieve the targets set out by leading the national team at least to the semi-finals of leading tournaments. The FA announced the key objectives for its Vision of the future of the English game on Tuesday and McClaren believes that financial backing and a unified national programme will be key to Capello's success.

“It [the Vision] is great, if it is backed up with action,” McClaren said. “That is the key thing. It is up to the FA to provide people at the sharp end of the game with the staff and resources for England to be able to do that. Everyone needs to pull together in the same direction: the FA, Premier League, the Football League, all pulling together for the good of the game.”

Asked whether there had been a lack of such unified backing during his 18-month tenure, which came to an end after England's defeat by Croatia in November, McClaren said: “You can see that. But with this [the FA's new manifesto], everyone knows the direction, the target.”