Sports fraud case involving Inter: fresh accusations against Rocchi as four matches come under scrutiny
Gianluca Rocchi's position has worsened: Milan prosecutors are now alleging sports fraud committed in concert with Inter officials in four matches.
Referee investigation: Rocchi accused of sports fraud, Turin-Inter emerges
The position of Gianluca Rocchi, former referee designator, has deteriorated significantly. According to reports in Corriere della Sera and picked up by Google News IT — Crime (it), prosecutors at the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office have served the former head of referees with a fresh summons, substantially different from the one issued on 24 April.
The matches under the Public Prosecutor's scrutiny are no longer three, but four: in addition to the already known Inter-Verona on 3 May 2025, Bologna-Inter on 20 April 2025 and the Coppa Italia derby Inter-Milan on 23 April 2025, Torino-Inter on 26 April 2026, played less than three months ago, has now been added.
The allegation of conspiracy with Inter
The charge framework is enriched with a central element: compared with the initial version of the investigation, magistrates are now alleging the crime of sports fraud, placing Rocchi "in conspiracy with representatives of the Inter sports company and pursuant to prior agreement with them". In the interrogation of the previous week, the new charges contest that Rocchi had "fraudulently accepted interference with the aim of altering the proper conduct of the competition".
In the Torino-Inter match, according to the Public Prosecutor's reconstruction, Rocchi is alleged to have appointed referee Maurizio Mariani "only after prior consent from the Nerazzurri club, as an arbiter not favoured by the club". In the case of Inter-Verona, by contrast, the accusation maintains that Rocchi chose Gianluca Manganiello as the referee to avoid the appointment of Simone Sozza, deemed unwelcome to the Nerazzurri.
Gravina's role and "preferential relationships"
According to prosecutors, the axis between Rocchi and Inter's hierarchy was fortified by protection at a high level. The Nerazzurri executives were said to have acted "as a result of preferential relationships with Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation" — a position from which Gravina has already recently resigned following the national team's failure to qualify for the World Cup. Neither Gravina nor Inter representatives are currently listed in the register of persons under investigation: the documents cite them for "preferential relationships" without having been identified with substantiated evidence.
The VAR room "knocks" removed, file heading to Monza
The chapter concerning the so-called "knocks" to the VAR room no longer figures among the charges. The reason is procedural: the VAR room is based in Lissone, in the province of Monza and Brianza, and that portion of the documents should be transmitted to the Public Prosecutor's Office in Monza.
Investigation timeline
The Milan Public Prosecutor's Office, headed by Marcello Viola and with the contribution of deputy prosecutor Paolo Ielo — who recently joined the investigation — aims to close the file by the end of the month. Prosecutor Ascione, who has led the investigation from the outset, will leave the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office on 16 July.
Investigators still need to establish whether there were actual pressures on referee appointments, who would have exercised them, and crucially, whether such pressures actually altered the proper conduct of the competitions. In the absence of sufficient findings on these points, according to reports, the most probable outcome remains a request for dismissal.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)