Players in handcuffs, dozens of suspects, a turnover that is spreading like wildfire throughout Serie A, and several clubs that are at risk at least for strict liability. If not, in some cases, probably also due to the direct responsibility of coaches and managers (this is the case, for example, of Lecce and Siena). Waiting to clarify the personal criminal responsibilities of the subjects involved – among the best known the Lazio captain Stefano Mauri, arrested, the Juve coach (at Siena at the time of the events) Antonio Conte, under investigation, and the Azzurri Criscito and Bonucci (the first will have to give up the European Championships, while the second was “saved” by Prandelli) – the possible repercussions on sporting justice are now taking center stage. That is, on the fate of the companies involved in the work of their members.
The trial starts on Thursday in Rome, and for now it belongs only to the investigation of the Cremona prosecutor's office (which carried out yesterday's arrests and searches, and will start the first interrogations today), and part of the investigation documentation of Bari, while developments are still awaited by the investigators of the Naples prosecutor's office. The Serie A clubs called into question are Lazio, Genoa, Chievo, Siena and Lecce, and for all of them it is now obvious that penalties will arrive, with possible relegations to Serie B. In particular, the position of the last two seems heavy: the Tuscans due to the number of matches (the position would be more serious if direct responsibility were demonstrated), the Apulians risk a lot especially for the hypothesis that it was its former president (Pierandrea Semeraro) to participate in match fixes, especially the one on the derby with Bari last season, won 2-0. As for the Venetians, yesterday the home of captain Sergio Pellissier was searched, while for Genoa the offending match is still the one with Lazio, for which the prosecutor of Cremona Di Martino also asked for pre-trial detention for Giuseppe Sculli , then rejected by the investigating judge. Sculli bears the heavy evidence of a photo outside a restaurant in Genoa with some ultra leaders and members of the criminal organization who managed the illicit bets: the blue Domenico Criscito also appears in the image (now at Zenit St. Petersburg, but rossoblù at the time of the events), registered in the register of suspects and excluded from the definitive list for the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
The same consolidated relationships with the organization of the "gypsies" seem to have had the biancoceleste captain Stefano Mauri, for whom even handcuffs were taken. Lazio's position is therefore very delicate, especially as regards its participation in the next Europa League, for which she qualified on the field by virtue of the fourth place achieved this season. In fact, the UEFA regulation leaves little room for misunderstandings: from 27 April 2007 the rule was introduced in article 2 that, in order to play cups, a club must not be directly and/or indirectly involved in any activity aimed at influencing the result of national or international matches. There is therefore no mention of "sanctioned" clubs, but simply "involved". The rule has already made a "victim" last year, when the Turks of Fenerbahce, called into question in similar events, were expelled from the Champions League.
It is the same end that Juventus risks, on paper, as a consequence of the involvement of its current coach – and freshly renewed in 2015 – Antonio Conte (and of the defender Bonucci): the Apulian coach is currently among the suspects following the testimony of his former midfielder at the time of Siena Filippo Carobbio. It should obviously be remembered that Conte's possible responsibility would in any case be placed in last season, when he coached the Tuscans, and absolutely not in the current one, as Italian champion with Juventus. Furthermore, the same Cremona public prosecutor made a point yesterday of specifying that many guarantee notices were issued as usual for the exclusive protection of the interested parties, and even the Juventus club itself immediately rallied around its coach and the FIGC explained that clarify everything to UEFA. The scudetto and the European future of Juventus should therefore be safe, even if a penalty (we are talking about 1 point or a fine) to be served in the Italian championship by virtue of art. 4.2 of sports justice, which provides for the strict liability also for facts attributed before his enrollment, as happened at Sampdoria with Bertani.
