Now for a REAL scandal!

The current investigation into an alleged “betting scandal” in Serie A down to C2 won’t came as any great surprise to observers of football. These things happen world-wide but always seem to be given that extra dramatic polish when they happen in Italy. Having said that, this is probably as good a time as any to look back at some dubious events from the past.

The last major case in the peninsula occurred three years ago with the Atalanta-Pistoiese game but the first recorded instance dates back to 1926 when Juventus player Luigi Allemandi was accused of “irregularities” during a derby. The ensuing debate cost Torino the Scudetto. La Vecchia Signora were again involved 11 years later when a Triestina player tried to bribe the Juve ‘keeper to let him score. The bribe wasn’t accepted and the player in question was banned for life.

There have been a few other discrepancies through the years but 1980 saw the real storm. On the 23rd of March, 11 players were arrested: Albertosi and Morini of Milan; Giardi of Genoa; Cacciatori, Wilson and Giordano of Lazio, Pellegrino of Avellino; Della Martira and Zecchini of Perugia; Magherini of Palermo and - perhaps the most famous person arrested - Felice Colombo, president of Milan. Also mentioned in dispatches were Paolo Rossi, Fernando Viola and Giuseppe Dossena. Businessman Massimo Cruciani and restaurant owner Alvaro Trinca were exposed as the men behind the clandestine betting.

The case was resolved in December 1980 when no legal action was taken against any of the players involved. The league had a different approach though and Milan and Lazio were demoted to B. Avellino, Perugia, Bologna, Palermo and Taranto were each docked 5 points. The players received bans from a minimum three months to a maximum six years, the latter being the penalty in the case of the unfortunate Pellegrino. Fortunately for Italy, Paolo Rossi’s ban ended just before the World Cup in Spain! Colombo was given a life-time ban from football and the Bologna President suffered a nine year suspension.

The next big case centred on Napoli in 1986 and 12 teams and 62 players were involved. The result of the inquiry penalised a number of clubs: Udinese and Lazio were given a 9-point penalty for the following season, 2 and 5 respectively for Perugia and Foggia. In the 90’s, the cases involved smaller teams and the latest developments look like producing the first major scandal in a while.

The details so far are that 5 players and 12 clubs are involved. The investigation is being carried out by the Direzione Distrettuale Antimafia della Procura di Napoli. The clubs range from C2 to A and are, in alphabetical order: Ascoli, Catanzaro, Chievo, Crotone, Fermana, Lecce, Lumezzane, Piacenza, Reggina, Sassari Torres, Siena and Taranto. The palyers are: Generoso Rossi, Roberto D’Aversa, Nicola Ventola, Salvatore Ambrosino and Vincenzo Onorato.

The Italian League were not informed of the investigation. News first came out when it was apparent that there was something going on at Siena on the morning of Tuesday 11th May. I’ve no idea how far-reaching this will be but if you remember the Napoli-Palermo second-half, it may be that other teams will be drawn into the net of this investigation. It will certainly be headline news for a while.