'World Cups fixed by hosts,' says Italian writer Marco Impiglia

(Getty)

Football's biggest prize has twice been won with the help of dictators fixing matches for the host team, according to a Fifa-hosted conference on World Cup history.

Italian writer Marco Impiglia presented a paper suggesting Italy's fascist leader Benito Mussolini ensured favourable refereeing in 1934. Professor Raanan Rein said he was "100 per cent persuaded" that Argentina's military junta influenced a 6-0 win against Peru in 1978.