'Mafia-type influence' threatens Italian football scene

19 people were arrested in Italy on Monday on charges of forming mafia groups connected with the football business.

Most detainees are top ultras — or hardcore fans — of Milanese football clubs FC Internazionale and AC Milan. The move “decimated” the leadership of fan groups backing two iconic Serie A clubs, local media reported.

Prosecutors said at a news conference that possible charges include criminal association with the use of “mafia methods,” extortion, assault and other serious offences.

According to the wide investigation, the criminal ring was linked to ‘Ndrangheta, the Italian mafia organisation that has emerged in recent years as one of the most powerful crime syndicates in the world.

Prosecutors allege that the suspects have attempted to take control of all the lucrative business activities around Milan’s Giuseppe Meazza stadium – also known as San Siro – including parking, food, tickets and souvenir sales.

Investigators said that some of the suspects might also have been involved in drug trafficking.

Giovanni Melillo, Italy’s national anti-mafia prosecutor, said that “reality shows that there have been clear risks, for quite some time now, of a drift towards criminal activities [carried out] in Italian [football] stadiums,” adding that clubs are “targeted by the crime syndicates that are trying to make a profit and to expand their influence, following the typical mafioso logic.”

Milan prosecutor Marcello Viola clarified that Milan’s two soccer clubs are “offended parties” in the investigation, having put in place rules to prevent wrongdoing.