Inter stakes title claim after scandal buffets Juventus

ROME, June 25 (Reuters) Inter Milan should be awarded last season's Serie A title if Juventus and AC Milan are found guilty of sporting fraud, according to Inter owner Massimo Moratti.

''If Juventus and Milan are hit by a punitive sentence, it seems to me normal that first place should be reassigned to Inter,'' Moratti was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport today.

''In the past, when a club was punished for illegal behaviour, the team that finished just behind them was awarded their place in the standings.'' Champions Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio - among the elite of Italian football - were charged with sporting fraud last week after an Italian Football Federation (FIGC) investigation into alleged match-fixing in Serie A.

All four clubs - as well as 26 individuals facing charges - have been ordered to appear at a sports tribunal in Rome's Olympic Stadium, starting on June 29.

Clubs found guilty face point deductions, relegation and being stripped of their titles.

Inter, who last won the Serie A title in 1989, finished third behind Juventus and city rivals AC last season.

Turin giants Juventus are at the centre of the scandal after the publication last month of intercepted telephone conversations between its former general manager Luciano Moggi and senior Italian Football Federation (FIGC) officials discussing refereeing appointments during the 2004-05 season.

Earlier this week Milan president Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister, said his club was innocent of all wrongdoing and laid claim to Juventus's last two Serie A titles.

The tribunal is expected to deliver its verdicts between June 7 and 9, the date of the World Cup final. Italy play Australia in the World Cup second round tomorrow.

Any club or individual who is convicted can ask for an appeals trial which the FIGC has promised will end by July 27, in time for the FIGC to tell UEFA which teams will compete in next season's Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions.

Reuters PDS BD1725