After its victory against its rival Milan (2-1), Inter won its 20th Italian championship title this Monday evening. Behind Juventus Turin (36 titles), the Lombardy team becomes the second most successful club in the league, just ahead of its rival AC Milan (19 titles). However, since Monday, numerous comments have flourished on the networks to assert that Inter actually only holds 19 national trophies.
To understand this debate, it is necessary to go back to 2006. Two Italian newspapers, La Gazzetta dello Sport and Il Corriere della Sera, reveal a report from the Turin public prosecutor’s office, which reveals the content of telephone exchanges between Italian club leaders and members of the championship bodies (notably the refereeing body), during the 2004-2005 season. Juventus and its general manager Lucciano Moggi are particularly involved, as are AC Milan, Fiorentina, and Lazio.
At that time, the courts were unable to consider these wiretappings as a real offense. Impossible to prove any corruption in an official match. Faced with the indignation aroused in Italy, the case ended up before the courts. During a lightning trial, held in July 2006, several clubs were sanctioned, including Juventus. It was stripped of its title from the 2004-2005 season (not re-awarded) and relegated to Serie B after deduction of all its points from the 2005-2006 season. Its runner-up, AC Milan, received a 30-point penalty, allowing Inter, third in Serie A that season, to win the Scudetto on the green carpet.
During the trial in 2006, the name of Inter Milan was not mentioned. Initially, there was nothing to blame Giacinto Facchetti’s club when the sanctions were imposed. However, over the years, tongues have been loosened and documents have multiplied. The Calciopoli scandal did not only concern 4 teams but a generalized system in Serie A.
Several legal actors have since clearly affirmed Inter’s involvement in this scandal. The Nerazzurri only owe their salvation to the statute of limitations of the case. It is impossible to reverse the 2006 decision.
Eighteen years later, Calciopoli is still causing a lot of ink to flow. To date, there is no evidence to prove that an official match was corrupted during the two seasons impacted by this affair. Juventus has bitter memories of the judgment, just like AC Milan supporters who feel fooled in this story, seeing their rival win in the fog.
SEE ALSO – Joy from Thuram, emotion from Martinez: Inter celebrate their 20th Serie A title after beating AC Milan on April 22
