Inter's tentacles face the final stress test

It is widely believed among the vast majority of Italian soccer fans that, should Inter emerge unscathed from this latest storm—as it has consistently done every time it has found itself in trouble (most recently over the organized crime infiltration scandal)—nothing could possibly intimidate Beppe Marotta and his associates in the future.

If not even the accusations by Prosecutor Ascione—which allege favoritism by match officials regarding the referees assigned to Inter’s games—prompt the sports authorities to act, it simply means the game is over. Soccer in Italy can officially be considered “their thing,” a North Korean-style dictatorship in which one can only operate within the boundaries permitted by the big players.

A near carbon-copy replica of the key allegations from the 2006 Calciopoli trial, which at the time led to a wave of public outrage, guilty verdicts anticipated in the newspapers (especially the pink rag), the relegation of one of the two powerhouse clubs of the Italian system (Juventus), and the severe penalty imposed on the other (Milan).

Same accusations, undue pressure on referee selectors, but diametrically opposed reactions. Twenty years ago, Milan and especially Juventus found themselves in the crosshairs with no chance of defense; today, the anti-aircraft fire is instead demonstrating once again—if ever there was a need—just how strong and entrenched the Nerazzurri power structure is that governs Italian soccer.

In just two days since the news broke of the notice of investigation sent to the head of the referees’ committee, Gianluca Rocchi, and Inter’s alleged involvement, we have witnessed a whole series of tactical counter-moves, brutal statements, and grasping at straws bordering on the ridiculous.

According to the ANSA news agency, which reportedly cited an unspecified source from the Milan prosecutor’s office, no club officials are currently under investigation—neither from Inter nor any other Italian team. The secret meeting held at San Siro, where decisions were made regarding which referees to assign to the Nerazzurri for the final matches of last season’s championship, was simply an internal matter among referees.

No pressure, then, but spontaneous favors requested by no one. And if you’re waiting for the part where flying donkeys or aliens landing in the garden come up, don’t feel alone, because I, too, felt the same way when faced with this utterly implausible account.

Why would a group of referees gather in a soccer stadium—and not at one of the AIA’s offices, for example—to select referees favored by a club, especially when that club had never even made such a request? Do you really think we’re that stupid?

And yet, even this ridiculous version was enough to give new life to the bovine pink trumpets and the entire army of lackeys, who—unlike the guilty-as-charged stance taken 20 years ago and more recently in the capital gains case—now suddenly find themselves staunch defenders of due process.

“No clubs are under investigation” is the mantra circulating to shield the Nerazzurri club from controversy and gradually shift attention to other matters, so that this one too can slowly slip into oblivion.

I am convinced that, just as with the financial insolvency and the accusations leveled by ‘Ndrangheta turncoats, they will get away with it this time as well. However, faced with this evidence, it is time to start thinking of the Inter system as something that cuts across the world of soccer and encompasses politics, the judiciary, the media, and organized crime. In other words, a genuine democratic emergency.

I'm part of ITALYGAME Team

together with:
@girolamomarotta, @sardrt, @mikitaly, @mad-runner, @famigliacurione

👉 VOTA PER NOI COME WITNESS👈