Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denied accusations he and his TV empire were behind a broadcasting rights row that threatens Serie A.

Fourteen teams in Serie A, have threatened to boycott matches against leading sides Juventus, Milan and Inter in a multi-million euro dispute about how clubs sell their TV rights.

Fiorentina owner Diego Della Valle has accused Berlusconi of being behind a political move to block a request by the clubs to return to collective bargaining.

The row has again drawn onto the headlines accusations of a conflict between Berlusconi's political and business interests just weeks ahead of Italian general elections in April.

"The government line on football is to leave it alone, to not interfere," Berlusconi said.

Clubs, led by Della Valle, had demanded a return to collective bargaining with the aim of spreading television revenues more equally among Serie A's 20 teams. But the proposal was blocked by Berlusconi's Forza Italia party.

Berlusconi owns Milan, one of the teams that most benefits from negotiating individually with TV networks. His family company controls Italy's largest private broadcaster, Mediaset, that leads football TV rights negotiations.

Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, told Sky Italia that Mediaset was in favour of collective bargaining. He instructed his lawyers to sue Della Valle for slander.

Communications Minister Mario Landolfi sought to quell the row last week and told soccer and television chiefs to broker a compromise.