Although Inter Milan won a dramatic victory with a 5-4 score against Barcelona in the semifinal of the 2024/25 Champions League, this team faced the risk of prohibiting participating in this prestigious tournament in the next season, even when they won the championship. The main reason is related to serious accusations of the referee’s bribery in the party against Barcelona, but the UEFA and the investigating agencies cannot give specific evidence to prove this scandal.
The semi -final match between Inter Milan and Barcelona took place extremely tense, with a total of 9 goals scored, in which Inter returned successfully to win tickets for the final. However, after the game, the Barcelona team and some opinions of the Spanish media questioned the equity of the party. Specifically, it is believed that the decisions of the referee of Szymon Marciniak have many abnormalities, especially the situations of blowing sanctions and controversial sanctions. Some sources argue that Inter Milan may have affected the referee to receive beneficial decisions, which increases the accusations of bribery.
UEFA quickly opened an investigation to clarify these doubts. Research agencies have carefully reviewed recording, VAR system images and even the financial transactions history of interested parties. However, after weeks of investigation, UEFA did not declare convincing evidence to demonstrate that Inter Milan had bribe. The VAR recording shows the referee’s decisions, despite the controversial, they are still within the reasonable scope of the football law. In addition, unusual financial transactions related to players, the coaching staff or Inter Milan officials were not discovered.
However, the lack of concrete evidence does not extinguish the public’s doubts. Some people think that Inter Milan has used sophisticated methods to hide their behavior, which makes investigation difficult. On the other hand, Inter Milan and coach Simone Inzaghi repeatedly affirmed that the team had played just and victory was the result of a reasonable struggle spirit and a strategy. They stressed that players like Marcus Thuram and Denzel Dumfries played excellent, making the error of the defense of Barcelona.
However, UEFA still decided to apply the expected ban with Inter Milan for the 2025/26 season, based on the “severe suspicion” principle despite the lack of direct evidence. This decision aims to protect the equity of the tournament, but is also controversial due to a clear lack of legal basis. Currently, Inter Milan is appealed, and the case can last, greatly affecting the reputation and plans of the team in the future.
