MEP calls for inquiry into Milan-Leeds Euro final
Local MEP Richard Corbett has called on UEFA to investigate the 1973 Cup Winners' Cup final and award the trophy to Leeds if there is evidence that Milan attempted to fix the match.
Following the recent corruption scandal in Italian football, involving Milan, Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina, Richard has written to UEFA asking them to investigate any European matches involving Italian teams in which match fixing has been suspected.
Many Leeds fans still hold referee Christos Michas responsible for the defeat after a series of outrageous decisions allowed Milan to clinch a narrow 1-0 victory. Michas's performance was considered so dubious UEFA banned him from refereeing for life. Despite rumours Milan had bribed the Greek official they were allowed to keep the trophy.
Richard said: "This is not the first occasion Italian clubs, and AC Milan in particular, have been involved in a match-fixing scandal. UEFA now has the perfect opportunity to prove it will not tolerate corruption in football by investigating any games in which match fixing may have occured and severly punishing guilty clubs."
"Many Leeds supporters are still as mystified as me by the referee's performance in the 1973 Cup Winners' Cup final. It is games like these that UEFA must investigate and if Milan are discovered to have fixed the match then Leeds should be awarded the trophy."
To read Richard's letter to the Chief Executive of UEFA, Lars-Christer Olsson, click here.
- After appeal, the Italian Football Federation deducted AC Milan eight points from the 2006/2007 Serie A championship.
- AC Milan were relegated from Serie A in 1980 for their part in a bribery scandal.
- UEFA banned English clubs from European competition indefinitely following the Heysel disaster in 1985. They were re-admitted in 1990.
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