Say it ain’t so! There’s finally a smoking gun in re: The Old Lady of Turin and “influencing” the Serie A refs? The conspiracy theorists have claimed for years (endlessly, with lots of video evidence) that Juve is often the recipient of favorable calls (especially well-timed penalties), and that a number of refs have long since been in the Agnelli family’s back pocket. And it looks like they might have some proof.

The worst part about this whole story is how unsurprising it actually is. That is, most tifosi of the Italian game will tell you that things get a bit dicey at the end of each season, especially with respect to promotion and relegation. Teams might pay other teams to lose? Well duh. It’s only us uppity and sanctimonious Americans who get scandalized by this sort of thing (see, The Miracle Of Castel Di Sangro).

I’m just happy to have something screwy going on in Italian football ahead of June 17. Implicate them all! Call the carabinieri!

Top clubs and ref in match-fixing probe [Soccernet]
Lo scandalo si allagra [Gazzetta Dello Sport]