Rocchi accused of sports fraud in conspiracy with Inter: fresh charges from Milan prosecutors
Former referee designator Gianluca Rocchi has responded to Milan investigators, but new alleged offences have emerged involving Inter executives and former Italian Football Federation president Gravina.
Investigation into referees: Rocchi responds to prosecutors, but charges mount
Gianluca Rocchi, former referee designator now at the centre of an investigation by Milan's prosecuting authority into the refereeing system, chose to present himself before the public prosecutors to refute accusations of conspiracy in sports fraud. This is reported by Il Fatto Quotidiano, clarifying that Rocchi — already summoned for questioning in late April and initially remaining silent — responded to investigators six days ago in an attempt to contest the charges against him.
The original accusations concern the designation of referees deemed "acceptable" to Inter in two matches in 2025. In the new notice to appear, however, further and more serious charges have emerged.
Inter's role and Gravina
In the sports fraud allegation, prosecutors now place Rocchi "in conspiracy with representatives of the sports company Inter and following an agreement with them, with the latter acting as a result of preferential relations with Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation". Gravina resigned from the Italian Football Federation following Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup.
This is an accusation that directly implicates the Inter club, defending Italian champions, with reference to the season just concluded. To date, however, no Inter executive nor Gravina himself appear to be registered in the register of persons under investigation. No executive of the Inter management has been identified with circumstantial evidence: there would be no direct wiretaps between club executives and Rocchi, nor have the telephones been seized.
New wiretaps and the match of 26 April
A significant development concerns the timing of the wiretaps: Rocchi was not monitored solely in spring 2025, when the first contested facts emerged. The wiretaps resumed in April of this year, with the season still under way, authorised by judge Giulia Marozzi a few days before the investigation became public.
In the prosecutors' sights was thus Torino-Inter of 26 April 2026, which ended 2–2 also thanks to a penalty awarded to the Turin side. The day before, Rocchi — already under investigation — had self-suspended himself from his position as designator. According to the prosecution, in the days preceding the match, an executive of the Italian Referees' Association had reported to Rocchi the alleged discontent of Inter with the appointment of referee Maurizio Mariani. Rocchi would have nonetheless confirmed that choice, subsequently declaring to investigators that he had defended it in the face of objections that had been reported to him as coming from the Inter camp.
Inter-Verona on 3 May 2025
Among the new charges is also the Inter-Verona match of 3 May 2025. According to the accusation, Rocchi selected Gianluca Manganiello as referee in order to prevent Simone Sozza, considered unwelcome to Inter, from being appointed to the field.
Archival hypothesis and investigation timeline
The investigators still need to establish whether and what pressure was exerted on the alleged "fixed" designations, who would have exerted it and whether it actually altered the regular conduct of competitions. In the absence of new evidence — a scenario that appears likely — a request for archival appears to be looming.
Public prosecutor Ascione, who has headed the investigation from the start, will leave Milan's Prosecution Authority on 16 July to transfer to Rome in the role of European prosecutor. The Prosecution Authority, headed by Marcello Viola with assistant Paolo Ielo recently entering the case, aims to close the investigation by the end of the month.
The "knocks" on the VAR room: severance toward Monza
The chapter relating to the so-called "knocks" on the VAR room no longer figures among the charges contested. This is not an abandonment of the accusation: according to what has emerged, a severance is planned with transmission of the documents to the Monza Prosecution Authority, which has territorial jurisdiction given that the VAR room is located in Lissone, in the province of Monza and Brianza.
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano - Cronaca