PERUGIA - A police probe is underway into whether Barcelona striker Luis Suarez cheated in his Italian language exam, which he sat in a bid for an EU passport to keep his dream of a Juventus transfer alive, Italian media reported on Tuesday.

 "During the investigations, irregularities emerged in the exam taken by Luis Suarez to obtain the Italian citizenship," the Perugia Public Prosecutor said in a statement.

 The Finance police and the Public Prosecutor of the Umbrian capital claim the exam “was set up ad hoc solely to allow the issue of a false certification for knowledge of B1 level Italian language.”

 Suarez, 33, last week sat the exam at Perugia University for Foreigners. 

 The topics covered in the test were pre-agreed with the candidate, and the score was given even before the exam was taken, investigators said.

 More than two hours is usually allocated to the B1 Italian citizenship exam, made up of four parts – listening, reading comprehension, writing and speaking. 

 But since June, due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, tests have comprised of just one component - the oral. 

 Conversations tapped by police reveal a tutor told a colleague Suarez was an absolute beginner who "can't speak a word" in Italian, La Repubblica reported.

 According to the rules, Serie A football clubs are limited in the number of non-EU (European Union) players they can recruit in one season, a quota Juventus had already filled with the signing of Weston McKennie.

 Suarez, whose wife is an Italian citizen, required dual nationality in order to secure the transfer to the Turin-based club.  

 cc