Signori among 16 arrested

SOCCER: FIVE YEARS after the Calciopoli scandal involving Serie A giants Juventus, Italian football was yesterday hit by another…

SOCCER:FIVE YEARS after the Calciopoli scandal involving Serie A giants Juventus, Italian football was yesterday hit by another match-fixing scandal when 16 people, including former Lazio and Italy striker Giuseppe "Beppe" Signori, were arrested.

If the Calciopoli scandal was essentially about the exercise of power and influence over referees in Serie A, this latest scandal would appear to be related exclusively to betting and concerns mainly second and third division games from the season just ended.

Based on information from mobile phone taps, police yesterday made arrests in Ancona, Ascoli, Bari, Benevento, Bologna, Como, Ferrara, Naples, Pescara, Ravenna, Rimini, Roma and Turin. Seven of the 16 were imprisoned, while house arrest was granted to nine. Another 12 are reportedly under investigation.

The investigation, named Ultima Scommessa (Last Bet), is focused on 18 games, with five of those being Serie B matches and just one (Inter Milan v Lecce, on March 20th) in Serie A. The investigation was prompted by some strange happenings immediately after a Lega Pro (third division) game between Cremonese and Paganese last November.

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When five Cremonese players and one physio complained of feeling unwell after the game, they were taken to hospital. Traces of the tranquilliser lormetazepam were found in their urine, prompting suspicions their half-time and/or pitch-side drinks had been doctored. One of the players was so groggy he had a serious car accident on his way home after the match.

The attempted “doping” failed as Cremonese won 2-0. The incident, however, alerted police who initiated a widespread investigation which, they claim, has revealed the activities of a “criminal organisation” capable of fixing matches for betting purposes, primarily by offering money to key players.

Allegedly prominent in the organisation is Signori. Three times leading Serie A goal scorer in the 1990s and capped 28 times for Italy, Signori (43), is well known in the football community as an obsessive gambler. He is alleged to have waged €150,000 on the Inter-Lecce game in expectation of a “guaranteed” 3-0 win for Inter. (The game ended 1-0.)

Italian Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete yesterday expressed his concern at the allegations, pointing out the federation has opened its own investigation.

Serie B champions Atalanta yesterday emphatically denied any wrongdoing despite the alleged involvement of captain Cristiano Doni in the match-fixing scam.