Milan prosecutor Marcello Viola has made startling revelations about the illegal activities surrounding San Siro stadium, home to both AC Milan and Inter Milan. According to Viola, as reported by Il Giornale, the stadium and its associated economic activities are “outside of any control of legality.”
The prosecutor highlighted several issues, stating: “This has occurred, at least in part, due to some organizational deficiencies of FC Internazionale in managing relations with the fan base: absolutely inadequate controls for stadium entries; ticket supplies to individuals belonging to criminal organizations who then make enormous markups when reselling; profit-sharing by individuals under investigation or already convicted for mafia association, who then transfer the money to their mafia family.”
The investigation uncovered “facilitating contacts” between club officials and ultras groups, including “the provision of 1,500 tickets to the Curva Nord, after heavy pressure, for the Champions League final” and “the provision of additional season tickets to the Curva Nord when the Irriducibili group was expelled.”
Viola also mentioned “continuous relations with We Are Milano, behind which hides the (hidden) management of Andrea Beretta; the constant entry into the stadium of individuals without tickets, facilitated by severe intimidation of stewards, a situation that has been going on for years and which no one seems able to remedy.”
The investigation, described by Viola as “complex,” involved multiple branches of law enforcement. It led to numerous arrests, searches, and the issuance of banning orders (DASPOs) against several individuals.
According to the prosecution, the findings “confirmed the existence of criminal infiltrations among the ultras and involved the main exponents of the so-called directorates of the organized fan bases of the two main Milan football teams.”
This investigation sheds light on the deep-rooted issues of organized crime and fan culture in Italian football, particularly in one of its most iconic stadiums.
