[gatagato]

The spectre of corruption returned to haunt Italian football yesterday when former star World Cup striker Beppe Signori was among 16 people arrested after investigators busted a football match-fixing operation that was so big police dubbed it a "proper criminal organisation".


In addition to Signori, who appeared in the 1994 World Cup final, police held other big-name players and club officials in towns across the country including Rome, Turin, Naples and Bologna. Magistrates claimed that players flunked matches for cash, while others were doped to ensure that they played badly.

The probe looks likely to rock Italian football just five years after the so-called Calciopoli scandal that led to Turin giants Juventus being relegated to the second division. In addition to the 16 arrested yesterday, another 12 people are officially under investigation in connection with the suspec-ted match-fixing scam.

Former Lazio and Bologna forward Signori, who retired in 2006, has been placed under house arrest. He is Serie A's eighth top scorer of all time with 188 goals. He was described as the "central element of a group of Bologna betters" involved in the scam, in an arrest warrant issued by Cremona investigating magistrate Guido Salvini.

In comments to the Ansa news agency, Signori said: "Have some mercy. I can't say anything. I will meet my lawyer and then he'll speak for me."

Atalanta's Cristiano Doni and former Sampdoria defender Stefano Bettarini, both of whom played international football for Italy, are also said to be under investigation.

Prosecutors said they had "important and irrefutable" evidence that the 16 were involved in manipulating results in 18 mostly Serie B (second division) and lower league matches in the season that has just come to an end, adding that Atalanta and Siena's promotion to the top flight may be in danger.

Police said the six-month investigation, triggered by a Serie B match in Cremona that aroused suspicion last year, had revealed the involvement of current footballers, club executives and sports betting operators. They said bets worth hundreds of thousands of euros had been placed on matches.

According to Mr Salvini, there was also a failed attempt to fix a Serie A match between Inter Milan and Lecce at the San Siro in March.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...e-2292033.html

[MattyD]

Don't the Italians ever learn? Many of their clubs were fined/formerly demoted because of corruption and now this. Unbelieveable. Thanks for the info

Top 10 Most Corrupt Football/Soccer Leagues

[gatagato]

Originally Posted by MattyD ↗

Don't the Italians ever learn? Many of their clubs were fined/formerly demoted because of corruption and now this. Unbelieveable. Thanks for the info

Top 10 Most Corrupt Football/Soccer Leagues

Wow. Thanks for the link. No, they won't learn. What's even more sad is that when happened the last scandal, the dude that has been charged to decide what to do was Guido Rossi (extraordinary prosecutor): he was one of the slaves of Massimo Moratti, F.C. Internazionale president. So basically some teams were punished, some others (Inter) have been able to buy players at low cost, including people like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, that has been paid like some player whatsoever. The scandal also involved something like seven Serie A referees: Dondarini, Paparesta, Bertini, Messina, Rocchi, Tagliavento, Rodomonti.
Soccer in Italy is ill.
In England you can carry your little sons to watch a match at the stadium, in Italy you cannot :(
In Engand soccer is yet business+passion, in Italy it has become only business.
What a shame for my Country.

[kellyhound]

football is one big corrupt mess just like other big sports i'm sure off.
http://www.espnstar.com/football/new...eels-come-off/

[MattyD]

Originally Posted by gatagato ↗

In England you can carry your little sons to watch a match at the stadium, in Italy you cannot :(
In Engand soccer is yet business+passion, in Italy it has become only business.
What a shame for my Country.

To be honest there's corruption everywhere mate. I wouldn't be surprised if that stuff was going on here. I mean I don't think it was that long ago the retard John Fashanu was linked to match fixing while at Aston Villa.

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

football is one big corrupt mess just like other big sports i'm sure off.

Cheers for the link

[gatagato]

Originally Posted by MattyD ↗

To be honest there's corruption everywhere mate. I wouldn't be surprised if that stuff was going on here. I mean I don't think it was that long ago the retard John Fashanu was linked to match fixing while at Aston Villa.

Well, thank you for your words, but I have to admit that In Italy the whole situation is a mess: some referees have sold matches for some Rolex:(
I mean: heck, if you are going to sell some serie A match, at least set some serious price! There are teams in serie A that stop playing football once they have avoided the danger to be devoided to B series. Fc Cagliari, for example, has lost five matches on a row during the end of the championship: and there are no explanations covering that, it was clearly a matter of matches being sold. Only in Italy happens that stuff: many of our players and referees are corrupted, our stadiums are obsolete and our fans are a bunch of crazy people deserving to be locked up in a psychiatric prison. Honestly, I feel much envy of England, because they have been able to keep the best face of football unaltered. In italy, we have been able to ruine one of the most nice sports ever, for a matter of dirty money.