Italian Football Fixed?
Posted by Casino Sam on Feb 5, 2009 under Gambling News, UK GamblingFriday, Milan newspaper Il Giornale published a report claiming that F.C. Internazionale Milano may have fixed matches during the 2007-2008 Italian football season. Inter, the report speculates, may have intentionally lost matches in order to skew the betting odds for the 2008 Scudetto.
According to the newspaper, the Italian Public Ministry released the report after Italian police investigated phone conversations between the club’s coach, Roberto Mancini, and known mafia associate Domenico Brescia.
The report speculates that from week 24 onward Mancini might have made coaching decisions specifically aimed at undermining the team’s performance. Mancini, it says, may have chosen Marco Materazzi instead of Julio Cruz to take a penalty shot in a match against A.C. Siena with the intention that Materazzi would miss.
As the Giornale report points out, Materazzi did miss, and Inter tied Siena 2-2. As a result, it notes, the odds gap between A.S. Roma and the Nerazzurri was trimmed to one.
The report goes on to allege that Mancini purposely prevented striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return from injury until the season’s final match. When Ibrahimovic returned, he proved crucial to Inter’s win over Parma F.C.
If true, the report’s speculations could be damning for Inter. However, as Goal.com points out, many bookmakers stopped taking bets on whether Inter would win the Scudetto after week 24.
What’s more, the office of Public Prosecutor Stefano Civardi, who Il Giornale says ordered the investigation, denies all knowledge of the report.
“The office would like to confirm that no inquiry was ever made regarding the 2007-2008 season and, in particular, Inter [sic],” Civardi’s office said in a brief statement.
Inter President Massimo Moratti has decried the report, calling it “a joke.”
“It’s already been denied by the Public Prosecutor’s office,” Moratti said. “There’s no need for my denial.”
According to Inter’s official website, the club is planning to take legal action against Il Giornale, which it says harmed its reputation by “reporting a declaration that was never made.”
Say it ain’t so! Thanks to the author Phill Provance - phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org
Tags: fixed football