Inter have hit back strongly at Paolo Panerai over a series of Twitter posts apparently from the Fiorentina vice-president claiming that the San Siro club should be relegated for allegedly breaching transfer regulations in their reported pursuit of Chelsea's Mohamed Salah.
Fiorentina are considering legal action against Salah as the winger is refusing to return for a second loan spell with the club, who have an option to keep him for the 2015-16 campaign as part of the deal that saw Juan Cuadrado head to Stamford Bridge in February.
A Fiorentina statement on Friday stated that Salah has "expressed his desire to join another club" - reported to be Inter - and Panerai has courted social media controversy that has prompted dismay at their Serie A rivals.
An unverified account claiming to be Panerai tweeted on Sunday: "Dear Giovanni [Malago, president of the Italian Olympic Committee], Salah is the final straw. We can no longer tolerate that signatures and rules are worth less than zero.
"If football clubs were to respect transparency rules, then Inter would already have been relegated. Whose money is it being used, is it starting from the Cayman Islands?
"[UEFA president] Michel Platini knows that Inter have broken the Uefa Fair Play rules. For Salah and other players who cost millions. This is the chance to make an example of them."
However, Inter issued a strong response via a statement that read: "F.C. Internazionale announces that it has read with great astonishment the comments made by the Fiorentina vice president on his personal Twitter account.
"It is not acceptable for anybody to talk out of turn about our club, casting doubt over its solidity and transparency.
"It is not acceptable for anybody to offend our club and, as a consequence, our fans, with comments that are utterly lacking in foundation.
"F.C. Internazionale is dismayed by the request for exemplary sporting action to be taken against the club, given that it and many other clubs has just signed a public agreement with UEFA to respect the FFP regulations.
"Given that Fiorentina is clearly attempting to involve Inter in a matter that doesn't concern it, in order to cover up a problem between Fiorentina and the player Mohamed Salah, F.C. Internazionale will make recourse to any authority necessary in order to protect its image and integrity."
