The Italian Nicolo Fagioli, from Juventus, was sanctioned this Tuesday with seven months without playing by the Prosecutor's Office of the Italian Football Federation due to what is known as the 'Betting Case', in which he ended up being investigated for having bet on illegal online sites.
The midfielder, the first player to come to light in the scandal in which his compatriots Sandro Tonali (Newcastle) and Nicolo Zaniolo (Aston Villa) are also being investigated, reached a plea agreement with the Prosecutor's Office of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), according to local media.
Fagioli would have admitted, therefore, having bet on football matches - not on any that were directly involved -, something that is expressly prohibited by the FIGC Sports Code.
The fact that he had reported himself to the FIGC (sports justice) at the time he learned that he was being investigated by the Turin Prosecutor's Office (ordinary justice), that he had collaborated from the first moment, that he had recognized his addiction and that he had in the hands of professionals to remedy it would have been key to reducing the sanction, which in the Code of Sports Justice appears as a minimum of three years away from the playing fields and a fine of a paltry 25,000 euros.
The sanction, which according to local media will be officially confirmed in the coming days, ends the current season of the Juventus midfielder who also lost Frenchman Paul Pogba for having tested positive for testosterone.
All that remains is the official announcement of the decision by the FIGC, which will come once the relevant bureaucratic procedures, the appeal deadlines and the final approval of the FIGC federal council have been passed.
Fagioli, who since he was formally investigated has been undergoing treatment from a specialist in the matter, has a person who controls his accounts to detect possible betting movements.
The player, according to the same sources, mentioned in his first statements to the authorities a single name, that of Sandro Tonali, who would have provided him with the name of a mobile application and its installation to place bets.
