Italy soccer trial adjourns until July 3

ROME, June 29 (Reuters) The presiding judge in a tribunal considering match-fixing charges against four top Italian soccer teams today adjourned the trial until July 3 to give five second-tier squads time to prepare their cases.

Tribunal president Cesare Ruperto told the accused, gathered in a room in Rome's Olympic Stadium, that the nation's biggest-ever sports trial would resume on Monday.

The tribunal is considering match-fixing charges against Serie A champions Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio, as well as 26 senior officials, referees and linesmen. The Italian Football Federation has said the trial will end by July 9.

The tribunal agreed to allow five Serie B teams -- Bologna, Lecce, Treviso, Brescia and Messina -- to take part and adjourned to give them time to present their cases.

REUTERS PDS KP1626