DRAW TOOK THE BISCUIT FOR ITALIANS

Azzurri caught in a Trap by stitch-up

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ITALIAN slang for a fixed football match is a biscotto.

And the Azzurri and their fans reckoned Denmark and Sweden took the biscuit in a stitch-up which saw the Nordic neighbours go through and dunk Giovanni Trapattoni's side out of Euro 2004.

Fixing and favours is part of Italian culture from the time of Machiavelli and the Medicis, and Calciopoli would explode just two years later where Juventus were relegated to Serie B.

And so conspiracy-obsessed Italians feared the worst before the final round of Group C games after drawing with Denmark (0-0) and Sweden (1-1).