Unveiling the Italian Betting Scandal: Insights and Impact

Addiction is the worst possible thing that can happen to anyone not just footballers. Footballers too get intrigued by that fact of earning some extra bucks alongside their hefty wages nowadays, and so they get introduced to betting. A game of luck that returns you unexpected profits but also losses if you don’t play things right. 

Rightly so it’s illegal to bet if it’s not authorized but there are some sites where you can bet since it is licensed with a disclaimer about how addictive betting can be.

According to Football Association (FA) introduced a worldwide ban on football betting in the English Premier League or leagues associated with England. When coming to parts of the world other than England, no one participating in betting should bet if they are involved in the game they are betting on, nor they should be able to influence the game in any sort and also any other matter concerning the league that they play in. There should be no passing of information about matches or they may face a worldwide ban from football.

There have been players who have been banned from football for a specific period or have been fined hefty fees for their involvement in illegal betting. Some of the known players are Ivan Toney who has been banned from playing matches for English premier league outfit Brentford for 8 months after accepting his involvement in 232 breaches from 2017 to 2021.

England international Kieran Trippier was banned after he left Tottenham. After he left for Spanish giants Atletico Madrid before even the move materialized. Old his friend about it on WhatsApp, who then used the info to win some good money on betting. The player was banned for 10 weeks with a fine of 70,000 euros. Some other notable mentions in the game are former England international Daniel Sturridge, Joe Barton, Martin Demichelis, Andros Townsend, etc.

The Italian Betting Scandal in View 

During the international break in October three first-team players from the Italy squad were sent home by the Italian FA and coach Luciano Spalletti. The reason to leave the players alone was that they didn’t have the ideal mindset to face the opponents with the current situation impacting their lives. The news was betting was first radiated by Fabrizio Corona also known as “The King Of Paparazzi “.

 The journalist revealed about Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli who was strictly under debt due to his betting addiction. As news broke in the Italian newspaper La Stampa, public prosecutors reached out to the Old Lady midfielder for him to get investigated. 

The journalist revealed that Juventus knife about their player's involvement in betting with the Old Lady officials denied the claim by answering that they had immediately contacted the Federal prosecutor's office as soon as they came to know about the matter. Right after two days the public prosecutor also reached out to two more Italy internationals Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo to ask for their cooperation in the investigation of their matters respectively. 

As current things stand Nicolo Fagioli has been fined 12,500 euros with a 12-month suspension from any footballing activity that comes under FIFA worldwide. Along with this, he has been asked to go for rehabilitation to undergo his addiction to betting with community service within the country. Sandro Tonali on the other hand was given a three-year suspension but following trials and his cooperation in the investigation, it was reduced to 10 months. His final appearance came as a substitute against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League, where Newcastle supporters were all behind their marquee signing with boards saying “Forza Tonali”.

As things stand a firm verdict on Nicolo Zaniolo’s ban hasn’t been confirmed as reports suggest that in the investigation with the Public prosecutor, the legal team of the Aston Villa winger revealed his involvement with betting under illegal sites related to blackjack and playing poker. If pleaded guilty on this the player will not serve a ban but will be handed a hefty fine for his involvement. More on Nicolo Zaniolo’s ban will be available in a couple of days.

Cover Credits: PeakPX