Prandelli would support Euro withdrawal

Cesare Prandelli said he would understand it if Italy were to withdraw from Euro 2012 in the wake of the match-fixing crisis in his home country.

The Azzurri’s warm-up for the European Championship was rocked when Domenico Criscito was dropped from the squad after being investigated in the match-fixing probe, while Leonardo Bonucci and Gianluigi Buffon have also come under scrutiny.

“If you tell me that it would be better for Italian football not to play at Euro 2012, I would not have a problem with it,” Prandelli told RaiSport, days after 19 people were arrested over the Scommessopoli scandal that has disrupted preparations for this year’s tournament.

“There are things in life that I believe to be more important than football. I don’t like crusades, I like to face things head on and not take a particular stance without thinking of the consequences.

“I would like to just talk about football, but what is happening right now is forcing us to do otherwise.”

Meanwhile, Prandelli has stressed that Italy will support Mario Balotelli if he is subjected to racist abuse at Euro 2012.

“If there are racist boos directed at Balotelli, we would all leave the bench and walk onto the pitch, we would do something for Mario,” he said.

Italy start Euro 2012 with the Group C match against Spain on June 10.