Italian Premier Mario Monti, right, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk shake hands during their meeting at Villa Madama, Rome, Tuesday, May 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Roberto Monaldo, Lapresse)
Italian Premier Mario Monti, right, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk shake hands during their meeting at Villa Madama, Rome, Tuesday, May 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Roberto Monaldo, Lapresse)
Italian Premier Mario Monti, right, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk shake hands during their meeting at Villa Madama, Rome, Tuesday, May 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Roberto Monaldo, Lapresse)
FILE -- In this May 2, 2012 file photo, Lazio's Stefano Mauri eyes the ball during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Siena in Rome. Mauri was among more than twelve arrested as part of a wide-ranging investigatio into max-fixing in football, Monday, May 28, 2012. Italian authorities also swept through the Italy national team training site near Florence, and are investigating Italy and Zenit St Petersburg defender Domenico Criscito a week before the national team leaves for the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine, and the coach of Italian champion Juventus, Antonio Conte for his alleged wrongdoing while coach of Siena. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
RESENDING TO PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE CROP OF FLO106 - In this photo taken Monday, May 21, 2012, Italy's Domenico Criscito attends a training session at the Coverciano sports center, near Florence, Italy. Italy and Zenit St Petersburg defender Criscito was placed under investigation by Italian police, Monday, May 28, 2012, just a week before the national team leaves for the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine, as part of a wide-ranging investigation into match-fixing in football. Italian authorities swept through the Coverciano training site and made more than a dozen arrests elsewhere. News reports said also Lazio captain Stefano Mauri was among those arrested while the coach of Italian champion Juventus, Antonio Conte, was placed under investigation for alleged wrongdoing while coach of Siena. (AP Photo/Fabrizio Giovannozzi)
FILE -- In this Oct. 29, 2011 file photo, Juventus coach Antonio Conte gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Juventus at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy. Coach of Italian champion Juventus, Antonio Conte, was placed under investigation on Monday, May 28, 2012, for alleged wrongdoing while coach of Siena. Italian authorities swept through the Italy national team training site near Florence and made more than a dozen arrests elsewhere Monday as part of a wide-ranging investigation into match-fixing in football. News reports said Lazio captain Stefano Mauri was among those arrested. Police are also investigating Italy and Zenit St Petersburg defender Domenico Criscito a week before the national team leaves for the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
ROME (AP) ? Premier Mario Monti suggested Tuesday that Italian soccer be suspended for two to three years after the latest match-fixing scandal rocked the national team and again tarnished the sport's image in the country just a week before the European Championship.
Dawn raids on Monday resulted in 14 arrests ? including Lazio captain Stefano Mauri ? to bring the total number of suspects arrested in the match-fixing inquiry to about 50 since last year. Many more have been placed under investigation.
"Football should be stopped for two to three years," Monti said on Tuesday in a powerful message to Italy's soccer authorities on the need to clean up the game. "It is not a proposal by the government but a question I am asking as someone who was passionate when football was still football."
Monti made the comments while standing beside the prime minister of Poland, which is co-hosting Euro 2012 with Ukraine starting June 8.
"I'm not making a proposal, and even less is it a proposal that comes from the government, but it's a desire that sometimes I feel inside me: That it would really benefit the maturity of us Italian citizens if this game was completely suspended for two to three years," he said.
He also ruled out the use of public money to bail out teams in difficulty.
Police swept through the Italian national squad's training camp near Florence on Monday as part of the operation and Italy defender Domenico Criscito was left off the Euro 2012 squad after he was placed under investigation.
Antonio Conte, who coached Juventus to the Serie A title this term, was also officially notified that he is under investigation for alleged wrongdoing while in charge of Siena in 2010-2011.
Apart from those arrested Monday, three people have been placed under house arrest and two others are to present themselves to authorities. Five of the arrests were made in Hungary.
Numerous others have had their houses searched, including Chievo Verona striker Sergio Pellissier as well as Conte and Criscito.
The investigation was started by judicial authorities in Cremona last year. It has resulted in former Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni being banned from soccer for 3 1/2 years, and the arrest of former Lazio captain Giuseppe Signori.
Serie A clubs Atalanta, Novara and Siena were among the 22 Italian teams notified at the beginning of this month that they are being investigated by sports authorities.
Prosecutors in Cremona have detailed an extensive match-fixing ring stretching as far as Singapore and South America that was allegedly in operation for more than 10 years.
Italy has only recently recovered from the 2006 match-fixing scandal ? known as Calciopoli ? that resulted in Juventus being relegated to Serie B for a season, plus points penalties for several other Serie A teams and long bans for club and refereeing officials.
The Italian national team reacted in the best possible way, winning the World Cup that year.
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AP Sports Writer Daniella Matar in Milan contributed to this report.
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