THE ex-boyfriend of an 18-year-old woman at the heart of a scandal involving Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has apologised for having fuelled speculation about a presumed relationship between the two.

ITALY’S Prime Minister Romano Prodi has never been a great football fan, unlike his opposite number Silvio Berlusconi, who is both president and owner of AC Milan, as well as most of the country’s TV stations.