Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo, international midfielders of the Italian team, had to leave the national team's concentration this Thursday after learning that they are being investigated by the Turin Prosecutor's Office for alleged sports betting.
The Newcastle and Aston Villa players, respectively, admitted to having bet on online games, but denied having bet on football matches. Both claimed not to have bet on matches, only on "poker and blackjack", according to the newspaper La Repubblica reported this Friday.
Nor do they deny being friends of Nicola Fagioli, a Juventus player, who is the first footballer to appear in the investigation carried out by the Turin Prosecutor's Office for several months, related to illegal betting on unlicensed online sites.
The same newspaper reported that the list of players does not end with those three names, as it could expand as the days go by, to a list that includes ten footballers.
In fact, the Italian media Dillinger News, which this Thursday announced that Zaniolo and Tonali were involved, assured that the fourth footballer involved is the Polish Nicola Zalewski, a Roma player, although at the moment there is no official confirmation that the young footballer is involved.
In this specific case, article 24 of the FIGC, Italian Football Federation, states that whatever their role in the sport, betting on football is prohibited, so if it is proven that Tonali and Zaniolo did not bet on matches, they would not receive the sanctions of the FIGC, but rather those of the ordinary justice system, in this case much less than those of the sports court.
"Subjects of the federative system, managers, partners and card-carrying members of clubs belonging to the professional sector are prohibited from placing or accepting bets, directly or indirectly, even from persons authorized to receive them, on the results of official matches organized within the framework of the FIGC, FIFA and UEFA", confirms the aforementioned article.
The sanction, if this crime is confirmed, could entail a minimum of 3 years of suspension and a fine of at least 25,000 euros.
