Football World Governing Body FIFA has, today sanctioned 23 Italian players and officials from active participation in the game with some getting permanently cut off from football related activities.
FIFA confirmed the worldwide extension of sanctions imposed on several officials and players by the Italian Football Association’s (FIGC) Sport-Justice Bodies and the Collegio di Garanzia dello Sport of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) relating to incidents of match manipulation and illegal betting that took place between 2014 and 2015 in different Italian football competitions.
Following investigations by the State Prosecutors of Catanzaro and Catania, the FIGC opened three disciplinary proceedings for violations of articles 1, 6, 7 and 9 of the FIGC Disciplinary Code.
As a result of these proceedings, several officials and players have been banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activities.
The sanctions imposed range from bans for one to five years and in some cases individuals have received permanent bans from holding any kind of position within the Italian Football Association.
The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided on 25 February 2016 to extend all of the above-mentioned sanctions to have worldwide effect in accordance with article 78 paragraph 1(c) and article 136ff of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
The relevant member associations, UEFA and CONMEBOL have been duly notified of the chairman’s decisions.
FIFA will continue in its ongoing efforts to combat match manipulation through a variety of initiatives which include the monitoring of international betting markets via FIFA’s subsidiary Early Warning System (EWS) and a confidential reporting system with a dedicated integrity hotline and e-mail address.