2023-10-16 20:23:42
Last Wednesday, various Italian media reported shocking news. The promising Juventus midfielder, Nicolò Fagioli, was being investigated by the Turin prosecutor’s office for bets made on illegal platforms. Article 24 of the Italian sports code prohibits any person subject to the federative regime from placing bets on any match organized by the federation itself, FIFA or UEFA. A few days later, the Police entered the Italian team’s concentration hotel to question two other footballers, Newcastle player Sandro Tonali and Aston Villa player Nicolò Zaniolo.
In their statement, both denied having placed sports bets, and assured that these were limited to games of chance such as poker or blackjack. The difference is enormous, because if it had been limited to this type of practices, the sanction would simply be economic, while otherwise it could imply a disqualification of up to three years. Both Zaniolo and Tonali received permission from the federation to leave the Azzurra camp, which is playing for a place in the next European Championship. The two footballers have returned to the discipline of their clubs and are awaiting the development of events.
The ‘betting case’ as it has already been called in Italy, dates back to last summer. When Nicolò Fagioli learned that he was being investigated, he decided to report himself and collaborate with justice, with a view to a possible reduction of his sanction. He acknowledged having placed sports bets, although he assured that they were never on matches in which he was involved. He also confessed to his gambling addiction, a problem that he has had for years and that he has now decided to treat with a specialist. In his statement he mentioned the name of Sandro Tonali, who allegedly provided him with an application to place bets illegally from his phone.
Here comes a key figure in this case, the journalist Fabrizzio Corona. Born in Catania in 1974, he is the son of Vittorio Corona, who founded the newspaper ‘La Voce’, famous for having trained numerous investigative journalists. Fabrizzio followed in his father’s footsteps, and in 2001 he moved to Milan, where he created his own photography agency. In those years Corona became the most famous paparazzi in Italy; His workers dedicated themselves to taking snapshots of well-known people (usually soccer players) in embarrassing situations, although they later did not sell these images to other media, but instead used them to blackmail the compromised people. Those practices led Corona to jail after Juventus forward David Trezeguet was accused of extortion.
More players splashed
When Fagioli’s confession became known, Corona stated on a television program that there were more footballers involved and that he knew their identities. He was the one who revealed the names of Zaniolo and Tonali the day before they were arrested and even assured that the Roma player even bet while he sat on the bench in a Italian Cup match. In recent days he has stated that up to three presidents of Serie A clubs are involved in the case and has directly accused the Polish footballer of Roma, Nicola Zalewski, who has already announced that he will take legal measures against the controversial journalist.
The truth is that it seems that the investigation is getting more and more every day. The newspaper ‘Repubblica’ has indicated that the police have the names of up to ten footballers involved. In addition, other players could receive sanctions for knowing the facts and not having reported them. La Gazzeta dello Sport assures that the Turin prosecutor’s office has evidence that Leonardo Bonucci knew of the addiction of his former teammate Fagioli. According to article 24 of the Code of Sports Justice, failure to file a complaint can lead to disqualification for a minimum of six months, in addition to a fine of 15,000 euros.
Sandro Tonali has decided to follow in Fagioli’s footsteps and collaborate fully with justice in search of a lighter sentence. If he confesses to having placed sports bets Tonali will certainly miss this summer’s European Championship as well as the rest of the season with Newcastle. The sanction could be increased if it is proven that he bet on matches in which he was directly involved, in which case he would face a minimum of four years off the playing field. The coming weeks will reveal more details about the latest great controversy in Italian football, which like a snowball seems to increase with each passing day, dragging more people in its wake.
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