ROME - Marcello Lippi's job as Italy coach could be at risk due to his relationship with Luciano Moggi and GEA, the firm of football agents run by Moggi's son.

Lippi was questioned for three hours on Friday as part of an investigation into the control Moggi, the central figure in the Serie A match-fixing scandal, and GEA are alleged to have had over Italian football.

Moggi is said to have put pressure on Lippi to pick GEA-represented players for the national team and to rest Juventus players for internationals if the Turin club - with whom he had a highly successful spell as coach there - had important club matches the following week.

Lippi is suspected of being a GEA client, a claim which he defiantly refutes. Another factor arousing suspicion is that Lippi's son Davide is a GEA agent.

"Lippi at risk," wrote the Gazzetta dello Sport Sunday.

"There's no real proof that he isn't involved in this disaster.

"He's at risk because this is not just an Italian problem. It has become a plaything for the international press and all eyes are on Italians, the sons of scandal."

The front page editorial in 'Il Manifesto' was in full agreement.

"Lippi has got to go," it headlined. "It's the least we can do to restore credibility to our football team.

"If this isn't done, we should all support our first round opponents at the World Cup - Ghana, the United States and the Czech Republic."