Marotta: ‘Anachronistic Lautaro Martinez investigation’ and Scudetto battle | OneFootball

Inter President Beppe Marotta warns the Scudetto showdown with Napoli might not be decisive, while hitting out at the ‘anachronistic’ investigation into Lautaro Martinez potential blasphemy.

It kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 17.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s three Serie A games on the Liveblog.

The Nerazzurri are the reigning Champions of Italy and had been playing catch-up for most of the campaign, but last week managed to climb into top spot thanks to Napoli’s run of three draws and a defeat.

Although they are the only side potentially still up for a Treble this season, Marotta concedes Inter have struggled in the big games.

“Being still in the Champions League is something to be proud of, but for the history of the club, I don’t consider it an extraordinary situation. I am sad that the other Italian teams have gone out, as it lowers the ranking of the whole nation and therefore damages everyone,” Marotta told DAZN.

“The statistics suggest we are not getting the best results in the head-to-head fixtures, but there are still 12 rounds to go and these big games won’t be the only ones that decide the title. Just look today at Atalanta being held 0-0 by Venezia, it shows our league is very difficult to predict and often results go against expectations.”

Matteo Darmian picked up an injury in Wednesday’s Coppa Italia quarter-final victory over Lazio, so he joins Yann Sommer, Carlos Augusto and Nicola Zalewski on the treatment table.

Marotta hits out at Lautaro Martinez accusation

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 22: Lautaro Martinez of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Genoa at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 22, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Lautaro Martinez is under investigation for potentially being caught on camera uttering a blasphemous phrase following the defeat to Juventus, which if confirmed would see the Inter captain banned.

“It is an unpleasant situation, acting as if Lautaro committed a crime. We believe what he says, that he did not use this insult. In sport, we must respect the authorities, so we will collaborate with the investigation, but reading the newspapers it feels a bit anachronistic that the investigation was sparked by some fans,” added Marotta.

“If the authorities work based on the appeals provided to them by various fan groups, then they might need hundreds of people working on that. We believe our captain, but will abide by whatever the authorities say.”

This is because the accusation had initially been rejected, until some Juventus fans online claimed to have found audio of the blasphemous phrase.

It is considered the worst kind of swearing in the Italian language and is therefore clamped down upon to avoid setting a bad example.

There are reports Lautaro Martinez could work out a plea bargain.