Inter ‘alternated between aiding and abetting criminality to acting with subservience’ towards ultras leaders, claim investigators, including Hakan Calhanoglu having dinner with some of those arrested.
The investigation into both Inter and Milan’s rapport with the hard-line faction of their fanbase prompted 19 arrests on Monday morning.
It was sparked by the murder of Antonio Bellocco, a leading figure in the Curva Nord group, by fellow Nerazzurri ultra Andrea Beretta.
A statement to news agency ANSA today from prosecutors explains that Inter as a club “alternated between aiding and abetting criminality to acting with subservience, holding (indirect) rapport with organised crime and the criminality within the stadium, incapable of interrupting these relations in a clear way.”
Italian football has always seen the ultras have a very close rapport with the players, considerably more than in most other European leagues.
While this can be a positive, it can also bring the stars into close contact with those linked to organised crime.
Nerazzurri ultras leader Marco Ferdico is among those arrested and he met with Calhanoglu and Nicolò Barella to discuss the allocation of Champions League Final tickets against Manchester City.
The investigation writes that in August 2023, Calhanoglu and his family had dinner with Ferdico, while he had also been set to dine with murdered Bellocco only for it to be rescheduled.
Italy 2006 World Cup winner Marco Materazzi also appeared in the investigative papers, with suggestions he promised the Curva Nord ultras that he would exclusively sell his new beer brand with them.
