Police have arrested former Italy striker Giuseppe Signori and charged 15 others with involvement in “organized crime” activities designed to influence matches in Serie B and the lower divisions.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said it would open an inquiry after Atalanta and Siena, due to be promoted to Serie A next season, were named as being among the clubs under the spotlight.
Domestic soccer has been battling corruption for years, with the fallout from a major 2006 match-fixing scandal in the top flight still rumbling on in the criminal and sporting courts.
Photo: EPA
“State police from Cremona, collaborating with police departments in Bari, Como, Bologna, Rimini, Pescara, Ancona, Ascoli Piceno, Ravenna, Benevento, Roma, Torino, Napoli and Ferrara have carried out 16 arrests,” a police statement said on Wednesday.
“[This] follows an investigation into a series of episodes connected to match-fixing which in past months has significantly influenced the results of some matches in Serie B and Lega Pro [the lower division],” it said.
Former SS Lazio captain Signori has been placed under house arrest with seven others, while another seven have been held in prison following the six-month probe.
A further request has been made to arrest another of the accused who is outside Italy, according to a police source.
“As well as the arrests, there are another 28 people under investigation, including footballers of a certain standing still playing,” said the source, who declined to be identified.
“The investigative procedure was able to collect important and irrefutable evidence to demonstrate the existence of an organized crime group composing footballers, ex-footballers of international standing, bookmakers and other individuals,” the police statement said. “The investigation revealed criminal behavior in a wider context linked to several people in the footballing world who, because of direct and indirect contacts, were able to influence the results of several matches and thereby make a payment of large sums of money through legal betting networks in Italy and abroad.”
Former Bari captain Antonio Bellavista, Benevento goalkeeper Marco Paoloni, former AC Milan player Mauro Bressan and Ravenna sporting director Giorgio Buffone were among those held in jail.
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