The Italian Football Federation issued a statement positioning itself in relation to the investigation into the possible involvement of two players in match-fixing by two players.
Those involved are midfielders Sandro Tonali, from Newcastle, and Nicolò Zaniolo, from Aston Villa, who are being investigated.
According to information from local journalists, the players left the Italian team’s training session after being questioned by the authorities.
The Federation informs that the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office has notified acts of investigation to football players Sandro Tonali and Nicolò Zaniolo, currently reunited with the national team.
“Regardless of the nature of the acts, considering that in this situation the two players are not in the necessary conditions to face the commitments scheduled for the next few days, the Federation decided, also to protect them, to allow them to return to their respective clubs”, he wrote the Federation.
Journalist Fabrizio Carmona stated that one of the bets made by Zaniolo took place while the player was playing for Roma, in a Coppa Italia match.
Months ago, Fabrizio had also anticipated information that Juventus midfielder Fagioli would also be linked to betting; Soon afterwards, the Turin prosecutors and the Italian Football Federation began investigations under maximum secrecy.
In addition to the trio’s situation, Italian football is already known for previous scandals.
Last season, Juventus lost points in the Italian Championship due to tax fraud; In 2006, the controversy known as “Calciopoli” exploded with the manipulation of results by some clubs, federation directors and refereeing components, leading to sanctions on Milan, Arezzo, Fiorentina, Lazio, Reggina and the Old Lady itself.
Match-fixing case
The players had their phones seized by the police during the investigation and were removed from the squad on Thursday (12).
According to the newspaper La Repubblica, the Italians almost cried when explaining the situation to their families and agents, insisting that they had never bet on football matches.
Italian authorities have been investigating athletes’ involvement in betting for months. The first name in the case to be released was that of Juventus midfielder Fagioli, who had his cell phone seized. Then it was the turn of the Italian team duo.
The Calciopoli case
At the time of the 2006 World Cup, there was a complaint about the selection of referees bought to referee games for Italian Championship clubs such as Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, Reggina and Siena. Leaders were also involved, including those from the Italian Federation.
In the first instance, Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio were punished with relegation to the second division.
After the clubs appealed, the penalty was reduced for the last two, and only Juve actually fell to the Italian Serie B.
Milan would lose 30 points for the next championship and would be prevented from competing in the Champions League, but ended up losing just 8 points and competing in the Champions League. Reggina and Siena, in turn, lost 11 and 1 point, respectively.
