Fifty-two players charged and 33 matches under scrutiny as Serie A teams Atalanta, Siena and Novara called before tribunal
Three teams in Italian football's top-flight Serie A, Atalanta, Siena and Novara, are among 22 clubs set to face trial this month before a sporting tribunal accused of match fixing, Italy's football federation has said.
The trial, in which 52 players are charged and 33 matches under scrutiny, is the biggest development to date in an investigation that could yet draw in more of the game's biggest names.
The scandal comes in the wake of a 2006 investigation into referee influencing that led to Juventus being relegated and stripped of two league titles.
The fresh allegations mostly cover games played in Italy's Serie B in recent seasons. Atalanta, Novara and Siena were all playing in the second division at the time, as was former European cup finalist Sampdoria, which is also in the dock.
A list of charges released by the federation makes frequent reference to a Balkan betting gang known as the Gypsies, which allegedly bribed players to throw games or ensure a certain number of goals were scored, with payments ranging from €5,000-€35,000 (£4,000-£28,000).
The federation is working with evidence based on wiretaps and confessions provided by magistrates in Cremona, who are mounting their own investigation. Using evidence handed over last year, the federation has already docked Atalanta six points and banned Italian international Cristiano Doni for three and a half years.
As this year's Serie A season concludes, Novara is due to be relegated back to Serie B, but if Siena is docked points it risks the same fate.
In the coming weeks the federation is likely to send more teams to trial based on further evidence from Cremona, which could implicate Genoa and Lazio, according to press reports, and from Bari, where prosecutors are investigating allegations that players at the local club were paid €230,000 (£185,000) to throw a crucial Serie A game against Lecce last year in which Bari player Andrea Masiello deliberately scored an own goal. Napoli, defeated by Chelsea in this season's Champions League, is at the centre of an inquiry by magistrates in Naples.
Prosecutors are also reportedly considering questioning former Siena manager Antonio Conte, who this season led Juventus to its first Serie A title since the club's relegation – its 28th title in total.
Club president Andrea Agnelli has courted controversy by claiming the club has won 30 titles, while players celebrating drank from bottles of champagne labelled with the number 30, deliberately ignoring the fact that two of those titles were officially stripped. Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
