For about the 857th time in the last 20 years, Italian football is in meltdown. For once, it’s not referee bribing, financial irregularities, or failure to qualify for yet another major tournament – but it’s still very, very, bad.
Early last week, it was reported that promising young Juventus midfielder Fabio Fagioli was facing a police probe for sports betting along with two other as of yet unnamed individuals. After the news a few days earlier that Paul Pogba was facing a ban of up to 4 years after two positive doping tests, this was another hard knock for Juventus within a week.
However, who were the two other individuals involved in this case? Most, including me assumed that they were two shady friends of Fagioli, trying to use the midfielder’s status as a footballer to get him involved in their scheme. They also assumed that because Fagioli was the first name to come up in this scandal, he was the biggest name involved. The two others would likely be semi-pro footballers, if even footballers at all. How wrong we were.
Nearing the weekend, it ended up being revealed that Newcastle’s and Aston Villa’s star signings of 2023, former Milan star Sandro Tonali and former Roma wonderkid (and still good player) Nicolo Zaniolo were the two other individuals involved in the case, and as it was an international break, were subsequently forced to leave the Italy camp to return to their clubs. It was a revelation which sent shockwaves through the football community, and which has led to a massive discussion regarding this scandal.
Also, while it seemed, as Zaniolo and Tonali are older than Fagioli, the Juventus midfielder was roped into it all by the two. However, it seemed that Fagioli was the most active one of the three, and may have led this alleged operation. If punishments are given for this scandal, Fagioli will likely be given the harshest one. However, there are a few facts that are working in favour for the players.
Working in the favour of Zaniolo and Tonali is that because Fagioli was the most involved in this case and has admitted to betting, while they haven’t, there is a good possibility that they end up scot-free and back to normal at Newcastle and Aston Villa. For Fagioli, he has admitted to authorities that he has a gambling addiction, and has cooperated with authorities in the process of the investigation. He also has said that he didn’t bet on any Juventus games, which if true reduces his maximum ban from 5 years to 18 months, as he has no playing control over the games on which he was betting, although we don’t know if he tried or did influence the games in any other way.
There are, however, two pieces of news which suggest that the investigation is far from finished. The first is Fagioli claiming that Tonali introduced him to the betting app. If true, this once again puts Tonali in the line of fire, and he too has a current maximum suspension of 18 months, with Zaniolo.
Here’s the big one, though. If a report from the Mail is to be believed, Fagioli, Tonali, and Zaniolo weren’t working alone, and the investigation is focusing on a total of 40 players, with Fagioli, Tonali, and Zaniolo the first 3 names revealed. Who would be the other 37 players? Are they just bit-part players in bottom half Serie A teams and Serie B teams? Or are they too big names, whom if banned would be massive losses for some of the best teams in the world?
You also have to consider what this means for the Italian National Team. With only about 8 months or so left to go until the Euros, which Italy might not even qualify for, these players would certainly be unable to participate in an Italian side which already has enough to deal with. And, if the claimed 40 players are banned from this investigation, it would decimate Roberto Mancini’s options for the Euros next summer.
All in all, this is a spectacular turn of events in a season which has already seen so many ups and downs. Don’t be fooled, this scandal is still in its infancy and there is still a lot to uncover before punishments are handed out. I think I’ve covered everything we know so far. If we get more bombshell news, I’ll cover it and post it. Thank you for reading, I’m Jim James, until next time