Rome: Just days after Juventus clinched the Serie A title to mark its return to the top of Italian football following the 2006 match-fixing scandal, the national sport risks being sent back into disarray due to a new betting probe.
Without naming the clubs or people, the Italian football federation (FIGC) announced Tuesday that 22 clubs and 61 people were to be informed yesterday that they are under investigation and will have to answer to authorities over a match-fixing and betting scandal. Of the 61 people, 52 are active players, two are non-active, four are club officials or collaborators and three are coaches.
The FIGC also said that 33 matches are under investigation, including 29 in Serie B, although none in Serie A. More than 30 people have been arrested in Italy in the past year in the probe started by judicial authorities in Cremona, including former Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni and former Lazio captain Giuseppe Signori.
Inquiry
The FIGC inquiry will likely lead to a massive sports trial this summer — just like the one in 2006 that resulted in Juventus being relegated to Serie B and point-penalties for several other top clubs. Juventus were also stripped of the 2005 and 2006 titles.
Last summer, Doni was banned from football for three years by the federation's disciplinary committee, and Atalanta — who were promoted to Serie A for this season — were given a six-point penalty. There was also a big betting scandal in 1980, resulting in numerous arrests and bans for club officials and top players, including Paolo Rossi, who led Italy in the 1982 World Cup.
