Abete stands by Calciopoli decisions, invites discussion

Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giancarlo Abete says the decision to hand Inter Milan the 2005/06 Serie A title was correct.

Inter were crowned champions at the expense of Juventus, with the Turin club stripped of the Scudetto titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06 and relegated to Serie B in the wake of the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal. Fiorentina, AC Milan, Lazio and Reggina were also hit with sanctions.

On November 8, the Tribunal of Naples sentenced former Juventus general director Luciano Moggi to five years in prison after being found guilty of sporting fraud, though he is not expected to spend any time behind bars as he and 15 others sentenced by the tribunal are unlikely to be ordered to prison before their appeals process runs out.

Juventus believe the tribunal’s findings absolved the club of blame, and president Andrea Agnelli has invited the FIGC to sit at a table and end the arguments once and for all.

Abete is in favour of the initiative, which he believes should ‘close the lid’ on Calciopoli once and for all.

“I see it as a great initiative to meet about this. This will be the perfect opportunity to clarify everything in serenity. It is time to close the lid on Calciopoli. This has already taken too long,” Abete said to Radio Anch’io.

“The Scudetto that was assigned to Inter? We made the right decisions. FIGC has never been wrong in this. We simply looked at the standings and the sentences handed to the clubs involved. I understand how the club presidents feel, but only the rules count for us.”

Inter president Massimo Moratti and Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) chief Gianni Petrucci have stated that they are keen to take matters further.

“A round table with the CONI president? I would be happy to accept Agnelli’s offer,” Moratti said.

Petrucci added: “I accept Agnelli’s invitation to sit down; this could be the start of the ice breaking.”