Prosecutor Stefano Palazzi also asked the trial to relegate AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio to Serie B.

The four teams and 25 soccer officials _ including referees _ face charges of match-fixing and disloyalty.

Italy's squad in Germany has 13 players from the four clubs involved, and before Tuesday night's game, media in both countries spared neither side.

All grievances generally fit under the aphorism: Germans love Italians, but don't respect them, and Italians respect Germans but don't love them.

German newspaper Bild Zeitung on Tuesday bade a premature _ and ultimately wrong _ "Arrivederci Italia!" and this week, Der Spiegel was forced into an apology after its Web site called Italians "parasites, mamma's boys and slimy." But the damage was done.

Italian fans had their own rallying cry: Avenge Bruno, the Italian bear which was shot by a hunter last week after wandering from the safety of an Italian refuge and into Bavaria, where officials feared he would eventually target humans after killing rabbits and sheep.

The shooting enraged Italians, and the head of the World Wildlife Fund in Italy on Tuesday called on the Azzurri to score one for Bruno.