The link between the two is Franco Carraro, who was president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) until he resigned after being implicated in the scandal but remains as a senior member of the International Olympic Committee. Italy were clear favourites to host Euro 2012 but such is the turmoil inside the federation that they look unlikely to be able to reorganise before December's vote. That could be bad news for UEFA, who would be left with two unpopular joint bids from Poland/Ukraine and Hungary/Croatia, neither of whom could offer the facilities Italy can.

Rome's proposed Olympic bid is also unlikely after the city's centre-left mayor Walter Veltroni said the refusal of the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's right-hand man, Gianni Letta, to be the head of the Rome 2016 organising committee showed the centre-right is not behind the capital.

Berlusconi, who is Milanese, was thought to have preferred a Milan bid for the Games. The city was in the running until the Italian Olympic Committee gave the capital the nod last week. But Veltroni has said he would press ahead only if Rome had support from the public, politicians and Italian sport.

Mario Pescante, a senior IOC member and senator in Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, protested that was an excuse. Carraro would be an ideal figure to mediate but is preoccupied defending himself against allegations he was trying to influence referees for important games.