Inter Milan have been warned they could be demoted from Serie A for next season.

The new Italian champs have been named as part of an investigation into creative accounting in Serie A and a member of the Covisoc - the association that performs financial checks on Italian clubs - accused them of fiddling their 2005-06 accounts with artificially inflated player values, known as plusvalenze.

At first it seemed as if this would only result in a fine for the Nerazzurri, but specialist lawyer Mattia Grassani has a very different view.

"Financial fraud is a very serious crime, second only in the sporting justice system to sporting fraud," he said.

"The sanctions for directors go from a simple fine to up to five year suspensions with the possibility of a lifetime ban.

"For clubs the punishment can be either a fine, points penalties or even demotion. In the rules there is also the possibility of stripping the Scudetto, but that is up to the Federation President to decide."