A new shock shakes the Italian professional football. The investigation, born in Cremona, led to the arrest of sixteen people, including former footballers of the caliber of Beppe Signori, Stefano Bettarini (the ex-husband of Simona Ventura) and Cristiano Doni, captain of Atalanta. Together with them, the handcuffs are released for company executives, freelancers and owners of sports betting agencies. Nine are now under house arrest.
The accusation is that of manipulating Serie B and Lega Pro football matches (the former Serie C) to one's advantage, in a real criminal organization. The accused resorted, if necessary, to the administration of sedatives to the players to influence their performance.
The operation concerns about thirty defendants and was conducted with six months of investigations by the police headquarters of Bari, Como, Bologna, Ascoli Piceno, Rome, Rimini, Ancona, Pescara, Turin, Naples, Benevento, Ferrara and Ravenna. From the papers available to the investigators, shadows also emerge on Serie A: Signori would have bet 150 thousand euros on Inter-Lecce after having received guarantees on the outcome of the match.
