Italian referee Massimo De Santis and linesmen Alessandro Griselli and Marco Ivaldi have been dropped after De Santis was implicated in the match-fixing scandal that has engulfed Italian soccer.
ItalyÆs No. 1 goalie, Gianluigi Buffon, was in danger of being dropped from the Azzurri team to be announced Monday after he was questioned in the scandal.
FIFA will not replace the Italian trio and will go with 22 referees at the World Cup.
Prosecutors in Naples, Rome, Parma and Turin are conducting investigations ranging from game-fixing to illegal betting.
Naples prosecutors are investigating four top Serie A clubs — Juventus, Lazio, AC Milan and Fiorentina — for alleged game-fixing.
JuventusÆ entire board resigned Thursday, including managing director Antonio Giraudo and general director Luciano Moggi, who are being investigated.
Italian soccer federation president Franco Carraro also resigned this week.