Several ‘Serie A’ Players Under Investigation in Illegal Betting Platforms Case
A number of current and former Serie A football players are under investigation in connection with illegal betting platforms in Italy, according to news agencies ANSA and AGI.
Reports indicate that twelve players, including Italian internationals Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Fagioli, are being scrutinized for their use of these underground platforms to place bets on sports other than football—particularly poker games—between December 2021 and October 2023.
The scandal first emerged in the fall of 2023, with two names already making headlines: Alessandro Florenzi (AC Milan) and Nicolò Zaniolo (Fiorentina).
Following the analysis of the mobile phones belonging to Tonali and Fagioli, as well as their testimonies, several players from Juventus Turin are now also under investigation. This includes both current players like Weston McKennie and Mattia Perin, as well as former players such as Ángel Di María and Leandro Paredes. Additionally, Italian international Raoul Bellanova from Atalanta and Samuele Ricci from Torino have also been implicated in this inquiry.
These players face potential fines of 250 euros and may also be subjected to disciplinary action by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
Tonali, who currently plays for Newcastle, and Fagioli, who was with Juventus at the time of the incidents and is now with Fiorentina, received suspensions of ten and seven months respectively in October 2023, which they have since served.
Tonali faced more severe penalties after admitting to betting on matches involving his former teams, Brescia and AC Milan, while wearing their jerseys. Meanwhile, Fagioli, who has battled gambling addiction, accrued debts exceeding three million euros.
In a statement released on Friday morning, the Milan prosecutor’s office announced the house arrest of five individuals accused of the “abusive exercise of gaming and betting activities, and money laundering,” who were managing the illicit platforms from a jewelry store in Milan. Authorities also seized 1.5 million euros in connection with the case.
However, the justice system has not yet confirmed the identities of the players currently under investigation.
