Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Alex Pattle

Luis Suarez: Italian police investigate claims that Barcelona striker cheated in language exam ahead of attempted Juventus move

Photograph: Getty Images

Italian finance police and the public prosecutor's office of Perugia have opened an investigation into allegations of irregularities in Luis Suarez's Italian citizenship test.

Suarez flew to Perugia last week to take the exam amid reports of a transfer from Barcelona to Juventus.

In order for the move to go ahead, the 33-year-old would have needed to secure Italian citizenship due to Juventus having no space in their squad for non-EU players.

Suarez, however, was allegedly aware of the contents of the exam before taking it, and the Uruguay international reportedly even had a pre-assigned score.

"Some irregularities have emerged in the exam of certification of Italian, sat on September 17 by Uruguayan football player Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz, needed to obtain the Italian citizenship," read a statement from the Perugia public prosecutor's office.

"From the investigation, it emerged that the topics in the exam had been agreed in advance with the applicant and that the relative mark had been attributed even before carrying out the exam, regardless of the fact that an elementary proficiency of the Italian language had been verified during remote classes carried out by lecturers of the University for Foreigners.

"Today, the Italian financial police are moving forward to capture the documents at the university offices, to verify the actions described beforehand and notify the information assurances for the crimes of revelation of professional secrecy, false representation committed by public officials in official documents and other."

Suarez's move to the Serie A champions seems to have collapsed, with Juve now on the verge of re-signing Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrd.

Morata, who is undergoing a medical with Juve, could now be replaced at Atletico by Suarez.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.