Italian football finds itself plunged into a new media storm after the incendiary statements of anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano, a major figure in investigative journalism and author of successful books on organized crime such as Gomorra. The day after the Serie A clash between Inter and Juventus played at the San Siro, the intellectual directly accused nerazzurro leader Giuseppe Marotta of embodying an opaque system which, according to him, discredits national competitions. In a long message published on social networks, he asserts that “As long as this man has a role to play in Italian football, everyone will have the feeling that the championships are distorted” and goes further by arguing that “the current championship is distorted. Even if Inter won it, it wouldn’t be worth anything.”. Saviano, known for living under permanent police protection due to threats from the mafia, thus places his criticism within a broader denunciation of the mechanisms of power and influence that he has observed for years in Italian institutions, including sport.
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The writer also links the post-match tension to the reaction of former Bianconero defender and captain Giorgio Chiellini, believing that “his anger is that of someone who knows the workings of the system with Marotta”suggesting the existence of internal dynamics known to stakeholders in the field. He also mentions the judicial investigation into the alleged infiltration of the ‘Ndrangheta in the Milanese Curva Nord to illustrate what he describes as a structural problem of credibility. According to him, when a court decision speaks of “situation of subjection” around an ultra group, the question goes beyond the sporting framework and becomes institutional. Saviano concludes that “When football reacts to these sensitive issues with silence or selective caution, the problem is no longer the result of a match but the trust in the system itself”believing that players and supporters are the first victims of an environment that protects its interests more than transparency.
