A dozen Serie A footballers are under investigation in the Milan investigation into a clandestine betting ring , which does not involve football matches.

The events would have occurred until October 2023. Among the names of the footballers registered for having bet illegally are those of Nicolò Fagioli, Sandro Tonali, Weston McKennie, Raoul Bellanova, Angel Di Maria, Nicolò Zaniolo, Alessandro Florenzi, Mattia Perin, Samuele Ricci, Matteo Cancellieri, Leandro Paredes, Cristian Buonaiuto, Matteo Falzarano, Adames Firpor, Marco Sartori . Other athletes were also involved, including the tennis player Matteo Gigante .

The footballers, according to what has been learned, are under investigation for having played on illegal betting and poker platforms and for having advertised them among other footballers. They are therefore investigated for the hypothesis that they participated not in betting on football but on illegal platforms in games not authorized by the Customs and Monopolies Agency and, in particular, in poker games on online tables.

THE SYSTEM

As part of the investigations, the Gdf seized over one and a half million euros from five people and a company for "illegal exercise of gambling and betting activities, money laundering and administrative liability of entities". In the investigation by PM Paolo Filippini and Roberta Amadeo, "decrees for the setting of preventive interrogation" before the investigating judge were also notified, after the "request for the application" of house arrest for the five suspects .

From the investigations, explains the prosecutor Marcello Viola, emerged «a group active in the Milan area held responsible for the illegal organization of bets, also through unauthorized online platforms, used by numerous bettors».

Investigators also found that a large part of the payments to settle gambling debts intended for the organizers were " channeled through a Milanese jewelry store to obstruct the illicit origin of the money and make it difficult to identify the real beneficiary."

According to investigators, the system involved " fake sales by the jeweler of luxury watches and trinkets that were not physically delivered, but were merely the reason for the bank transfer issued by gamblers to settle the debt incurred for betting on illegal platforms."

There was also a "consolidated and structured mechanism for the payment of gambling debts by bettors to the organizers" with "the use of numerous front individuals who, by making their PostePay cards, Revolut accounts and current accounts available, received financial transactions " for at least 300 thousand euros, "intended to settle or reduce the debt positions deriving from illegal betting".

THE ARCHITECTS

The request for house arrest was triggered for five people who ran the ring: Tommaso De Giacomo, Patrik Frizzera, Antonio Scinocca, Antonino Parise and Andrea Piccini.

The first would have had a role of manager and coordinator of the activities related to illegal betting and the management of the platforms, including the communication of the passwords for accessing the loading of the gaming accounts, the maintenance of the accounts of the debts and credits of each player to whom he would also have indicated the channels for the payment of the debts, i.e. PostePay, Revolut, cash or through Elysium, the jewelry store.

The second one would have had a role, in addition to managing the platforms, of enabling players to play online poker by creating closed rooms and, among other things, of managing the relationships with the representatives of the Elysium jewelry store for the recovery of the credits.

Andrea Piccini, Antonino Parise and Antonio Scinocca, the partners, administrators by right, de facto and the legal representative of Elysium, the jewelry store on whose accounts the debts were paid.

Then there is Pietro Marinoni , as emerges from the documents, using his knowledge in the world of professional football, he would have brought the clients, helped the first two in organizing the activities related to betting and in taking care of the collection of cash from the bettors. Tonali, questioned in 2023, said that it was Marinoni who introduced him to betting, who «is from my town, at the time he was a referee and went to school with my sister» .

THE SPORTING CONSEQUENCES

From what we understand, from a criminal point of view the footballers do not risk much and can get away with a fine. The most relevant checks will be those of the Federal Prosecutor of the FIGC, to which the Milanese prosecutors will transmit the documents for possible disciplinary sanctions .

TONALI AND FAGIOLI “COLLECTORS”

Tonali and Fagioli have already served a suspension and the facts of the investigation would have occurred until 2023. But the two midfielders of Fiorentina and Newcastle, according to the investigators, «in addition to having placed numerous bets, would have covered the role of collectors of bettors, for which they would have been remunerated with bonuses on their gaming accounts» . The two, in fact, are being investigated for a charge that also concerns the «publicity» given to the illegal betting ring, while all the others are being investigated as «mere bettors».

FAGIOLI'S DEBTS

The documents also include the names of other footballers who are not under investigation but who allegedly helped their teammates repay their debts. Among these is Juventus defender Federico Gatti, who allegedly helped his then teammate Fagioli pay off his gambling debts with cash loans (40,000 euros) .

The midfielder allegedly transferred 693,614 euros to the jewelry store; his credit card had been left at the disposal of the business, where it was kept in a safe.

Also not under investigation but cited in the documents, for the same reason as Gatti, are goalkeeper Stefano Turati and former defender Radu Dragusin .

(Unioneonline/L)

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