Duisburg, June 8 :

No more scandal talk for Italy. Coach Marcello Lippi says the team’s focus now is exclusively on the World Cup. “We answered every question for 15 days, but we decided that once we arrived in Germany, we would talk only about playing soccer,” Lippi said.

The Azzurri opened its training camp in Florence on May 22 and faced scandal questions daily while still in Italy. Prosecutors in Rome, Parma, Turin and Naples are investigating allegations of match-fixing, illegal betting, manipulation of referee assignments and false bookkeeping in the largest scandal in Italian soccer history.

Lippi had to answer prosecutor’s questions over alleged pressure he received to call up certain players to the national team. Captain Fabio Cannavaro was called on Saturday to explain his transfer from Inter Milan to Juventus and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon faces illegal betting accusations.

When a British reporter asked Lippi how the team has been affected, he responded, “Ask your Italian colleagues. We’ve answered every question since the first day of training. The team has always remained calm and serene.”

Even before the scandal, Italy announced it would reach out more to its fans at this tournament. Italian fans were greatly outnumbered by opponent’s supporters when the team was eliminated after the first round of the 2004 European championship.

So the Italian press criticised the team for neglecting its fans on arrival at the Duesseldorf airport on Wednesday. The area where Italy is staying is well stocked with Italian immigrants and several hundred turned out to welcome the team. The squad went directly into the hotel without stopping to greet the fans, who then started shouting in unison for the players to come out. After 45 minutes, someone with a loudspeaker said that the players would not be coming out.