Skip to content
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 05: Referee Gianluca Rocchi during the UEFA Champions League group H match between Chelsea FC and AFC Ajax at Stamford Bridge on November 05, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
There are allegations that refereeing chief designator Gianluca Rocchi is under investigation for sporting fraud in part for choosing referees favoured by Inter in 2024-25.
- Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News and Content – Free Trial – Click Here
The scandal erupted this afternoon when it was announced that Rocchi is officially under investigation for sporting fraud, an extremely serious accusation that was not even used during the infamous Calciopoli chaos of 2006.
Case against Rocchi still not clear
What precisely warranted this accusation is still not entirely clear, but news agency AGI claims that the investigators believe Rocchi worked to assign referee Andrea Colombo for Bologna vs. Inter on April 20, 2025.
This was because Inter were not pleased with the idea of Daniele Doveri getting the job, so instead Doveri was re-routed to a Coppa Italia semi-final won 3-0 by Milan on April 23.
It is claimed that Rocchi made this decision with several others when he was at San Siro for the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final on April 2, therefore agreeing to keep Doveri away from the games that were ‘most important’ to Inter.
If Colombo was meant to be good for Inter, then it didn’t work, because this was the game that really cost Inter the Scudetto when Riccardo Orsolini scored a late goal from a throw-in that was further ahead than where the ball had gone out.
Another accusation is that on March 1, 2025, Rocchi over-stepped the boundaries of VAR supervisor by banging on the window of the VAR booth, urging Daniele Paterna to recommend an On-Field Review for a penalty during Udinese vs. Parma.
Paterna did not want to recommend the OFR for referee Fabio Maresca, who eventually did award a penalty to Udinese, but felt he was pressured into doing so by Rocchi.
