Inter President Beppe Marotta assured the club has ‘nothing to fear’ after the investigation into ultras leaders and they hope to ‘remove criminality’ from their stands.
The Champions League tie with Crvena Zvezda kicks off at San Siro at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Bayer Leverkusen-Milan on the Liveblog.
Inevitably, the first question asked to the patron was about yesterday’s series of arrests as part of an investigation into the infiltration of organised crime into the ultras movement of Inter and Milan.
“I want to reassure all our fans and ourselves, because the magistrates confirmed during a press conference that we are the injured party, so have nothing to fear. We guaranteed the utmost collaboration with the magistrates, we are at their total disposal,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.
“Inter have a security structure that is applied with a very rigid protocol by a former police figure, but sometimes there are situations that are outside the institutional and business structure.”
Marotta confident Inter have ‘nothing to fear’ from investigation
The latest statement via news agency ANSA notes that the magistrates feel Inter’s approach to the ultras varied between aiding and abetting their behaviour to being downright subservient to their threats.
Is there the risk that the players, some of whom know the arrested men well, will be distracted from the game?
“We are all experienced men, and those without it should look to us as a reference point. Inter are a very transparent club, so there is nothing to fear. We should concentrate on this game and trust the magistrates do their work to eventually remove criminality from the stadium.”
As for the match itself, Simone Inzaghi has rotated the squad with seven changes from the side that beat Udinese 3-2 in Serie A at the weekend.
“We have a very competitive squad built for several different tournaments, so they are all first choices and the coach picks them based on what he sees and evaluates,” concluded Marotta.
“Those who play tonight will certainly be up to the standard of the jersey they are wearing and there is also room for five players off the bench.”
