Football: Inter Milan suspected of false accounting
Posted: 20 June 2007 2323 hrs

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ROME : Serie A champions Inter Milan could be in hot water if it is proven the club presented false accounts before the start of the 2005-06 season.

Inter, together with city rivals AC Milan, are being investigated for alleged false accounting between 2003 and 2005.

The Milan giants are suspected of inflating the values of second-string players traded between them for capital gains tax purposes to improve their annual accounts, falsely showing the clubs to be in a better financial position.

COVISOC, the financial regulator for the Italian football federation (FIGC), said on Wednesday Inter would not have been registered to play in Serie A for the 2005-06 season had their accounts been presented accurately.

"If the club had not declared fictitious capital gains, Inter would not have met the financial parameters required to register for 2005-06," a COVISOC spokesman told Italian news agency ANSA.

Each summer every professional club in Italy is required to present audited accounts to COVISOC. A club can only take part in its relative championship once it has proved its accounts are in order and that it has financial cover to meet the following season's expenses.

Inter were awarded the 2005-06 Serie A title after Juventus and AC Milan were found guilty of match-fixing.

- AFP /ls