Italian prosecutors are investigating allegations that former referee designator Gianluca Rocchi manipulated key Serie A and Coppa Italia appointments to benefit Inter Milan during the 2024-25 title race. According to documents from the Milan Prosecutor's Office, Rocchi is under investigation for suspected criminal conspiracy alongside several other figures from within Italian refereeing.
The inquiry, led by prosecutor Maurizio Ascione, centers on an alleged meeting at San Siro on April 2, 2025. An environmental interception from that meeting reportedly captured Rocchi discussing appointments with two or three individuals. The discussions allegedly concerned assigning Andrea Colombo, described as a referee "favoured by the away team," to Inter's crucial league match away to Bologna on April 20, 2025. They also concerned placing Daniele Doveri, a referee reportedly "disliked" by Inter, in charge of the Coppa Italia semi-final on April 23, 2025, to ensure he would be ineligible for the final and Inter's remaining, decisive Serie A fixtures.
Testimonies from several referees, including Doveri and Colombo themselves, have reportedly provided further confirmation of these allegedly "orchestrated" appointments. The prosecutors suggest there was a shared awareness among officials of these arrangements, which they describe as part of a wider "system" managed by Rocchi. The investigation has also heard from former referees Domenico Rocca and Eugenio Abbattista, who reportedly spoke of mechanisms for post-match evaluations that influenced future assignments and earnings, and of "purges" against those who did not align with the correct "faction."
Prosecutors have reiterated that, at this stage, clubs and their officials are not under investigation and are not considered victims. The focus remains entirely within the refereeing establishment. Only one testimony, that of VAR official Daniele Paterna regarding a Udinese-Parma match, has been dismissed by investigators over false information; all other hearings are said to have provided useful evidence.
The case has reignited past controversies in Italian football. Statements made by Jose Mourinho in May 2023, while he was Roma manager, have resurfaced widely. Mourinho claimed at the time, "We don't have the strength that other clubs have to say 'we don't want this referee,' there are teams that do it. We all know it." He directly appealed to Rocchi, then the designator, to stop assigning a particular official to Roma's matches.
Former referee Eugenio Abbattista, a witness in the current probe, commented on the situation, stating, "To those who think this investigation makes me happy, I say it morally compensates me. I have always been and am motivated only by a sense of justice." Rocchi, through his lawyer Antonio D'Avirro, waived his right to an initial interrogation scheduled in Milan, while another official, Andrea Gervasoni, is set to be questioned in a separate but tangentially related case.
The implications of the investigation are significant for the integrity of Serie A, particularly the memory of the 2024-25 season where Inter were locked in a tight Scudetto battle with Napoli. The alleged manipulation, if proven, would cast a shadow over the sporting outcomes of that campaign. The judicial process remains ongoing, with the situation described by sources as "fluid" and further developments expected.
