Inter in Match-fixing scandal?

Italian champions Inter are alleged to have thrown away matches towards the end of last season in order to increase Scudetto odds, according to a damning report released by the Italian Public Ministry and published in Friday's edition of Il Giornale.

The Milan-based paper leads with the headline: "Public Ministry: Inter Threw Away Games To Help Facilitate Gambling Bets."

The report claims the Nerazzurri, who eventually won the title on the last day of the season, drew and lost games in order to increase gambling odds regarding last season's Scudetto race.

In Particular, the report focuses on games from week 24 onwards where a number of betting agencies stopped taking bets on Inter winning the Scudetto.

The enquiry was carried out by Police at the request of the Public Ministry who are investigating allegations regarding a series of phone calls between the then Inter coach Roberto Mancini and a Mafia associate called Domenico Brescia.

Brescia is an Inter fan and he already faced the Italian justice system regarding allegations of drug dealing.

The report also highlights a number of different incidents during games and alleges that Zlatan Ibrahimovic's return from injury was postponed on purpose.

In addition, there are claims that Julio Cruz was told to leave the penalty in the penultimate game of the season against Siena to Marco Materazzi who missed, and the game ended 2-2. This meant the gap between Inter and Roma on the final day of the season was just one point.

Ibrahimovic returned from injury on the final day of the season to help Inter win against Parma and lift the Scudetto.

These claims are likely to rock the Nerazzurri as another scandal hits the Italian game.

Salvatore Landolina, Goal.com

Inter Match-Fixing Claims Denied
The Milanese Public Prosecutors Office has denied claims which suggest they made an enquiry alleging that Inter had fixed matches... The Public Prosecutors Office in Milan has denied reports which claim they had made an enquiry into allegations of match-fixing at Inter. Il Giornale Newspaper published a report on Friday morning which claimed the Office had made an investigation into alleged match-fixing. The Milan-based paper had claimed Inter threw away matches during the course of last season to favour betting odds on the Scudetto.

However, in a major twist to the story, the Prosecutors Office has strongly denied the claims that they have made an investigation into match-fixing. A statement released by the Office and published in La Gazzetta Dello Sport reads:

"The Office would like to precise that no enquiry was ever made by the regarding the 2007/08 season and, in particular, Inter."

Il Giornale carried the story which alleged a number of matches were thrown away towards the end of the season to favour gambling odds. One game in particular was the 2-2 draw between Inter and Siena on the penultimate day of the season. Inter have not released any comment or statement regarding the claims.