A recent investigation into Italian football ultras has uncovered a revealing phone conversation between Inter Milan’s head coach Simone Inzaghi and Marco Ferdico, a prominent ultras leader who was recently arrested. La Gazzetta dello Sport report that the discussion, which took place in May 2023, centered around obtaining additional tickets for the Champions League final in Istanbul.
According to the intercepted call, Ferdico explicitly asked Inzaghi to intervene with the club’s management, specifically mentioning CEO Beppe Marotta, to secure 200 extra tickets for the ultras group. Inzaghi reportedly promised to intercede with the club’s top executives on their behalf.
The conversation occurred on May 26, 2023, when Ferdico explained that the ultras had staged a “fan strike” during the Coppa Italia final due to the ticket allocation issue for the Champions League final. He told Inzaghi, “I’ll be brief, Mister… they gave us 1,000 tickets… we did the math… we need 200 more to be comfortable… but not for scalping, Mister. Can we get to 1,200 tickets? That’s my request.”
Inzaghi responded by saying he would speak with club officials, including Javier Zanetti and Marotta, and get back to Ferdico with an answer. The coach added that he would mention that Ferdico had already spoken with other club representatives.
The investigation also revealed that the ultras leaders had contacted former player Marco Materazzi regarding ticket allocation. Their efforts apparently paid off, as Ferdico later exclaimed in another intercepted communication, “They gave me 1,500 tickets!”
Additionally, the probe uncovered a meeting between Ferdico, another ultras member Mauro Nepi, and former Inter player Milan Skriniar, now with PSG. The ultras were reportedly discussing transfer market matters and Skriniar’s potential departure from the club.
