ROME, May 20: FIFA president Sepp Blatter has expressed his dismay about the state of Italian football as the Serie A match-fixing scandal rumbles on.

“It's terrible what's happening, especially for the game's image,” he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I could understand it if it had happened in Africa, but not in Italy.”

Blatter applauded Italy's footbal federation (FIGC) for pulling Italian referee Massimo De Santis, who is under investigation for sporting fraud, out of the World Cup.

“It was the right decision,” he said. “Now we await the outcome of the investigation.”

Four Serie A clubs - Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio - are suspected of match-fixing in the 2004-05 season.

Also under investigation are FIGC officials, Serie A directors and referees.—AFP