Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was questioned by magistrates yesterday over alleged betting improprieties - part of a string of scandals which has rocked the nation just weeks before the start of the World Cup.

Buffon voluntarily presented himself for questioning by magistrates in Turin, the home town of his team, Serie A champions Juventus - the club at the eye of a storm that has hit Italy's soccer elite.

The player's lawyer denied his client had broken Italian rules which ban players from betting on football matches.

"Gianluigi Buffon explained to the magistrates that he had bet on foreign football and other games before autumn of 2005," Luigi Chiappero told reporters, adding the goalkeeper had not placed any bets on soccer since the ban on betting in any league had been in place.

Also yesterday it was reported that the Italian Football Federation withdrew a referee it was planning to send to the World Cup finals, Massimo De Santis, along with two assistant referees, all of whom are under investigation in the probe.

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