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Italy has seen its fair share of scandals, but for some no political contretemps was as big as the football scandal of 2006. Charges of corruption, including gambling and rigging games through referee selection by some of the biggest teams in Serie A rocked the nation. The team facing the most damning allegations was two-time defending champion Juventus.

Serie A teams AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Reggina were all punished with fines, suspension and point deductions, but none of that compared to the punishments handed down to Juventus. Their 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles were stripped and the team was relegated to Serie B for the 2006-07 season. What was once a budding football dynasty, Juventus instead lost their back-to-back titles and their chance to win a third. In the wake of the scandal over 30 top level Serie A players moved to other European leagues.

As the scandal was unfolding the Italians were preparing for the World Cup. With a former Juventus coach and five players many thought the distraction would be too much, but the Azzurri astonishingly won the Cup, giving the Italians some respite from their troubles at home.

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