Football betting scandals are back in Italy. Sixteen individuals, including former Serie A, Serie B and Lega Pro footballers are arrested after football betting investigations.

Sixteen individuals, including former Serie A, Serie B and Lega Pro footballers, others still playing and managers of Lega Pro clubs, have been arrested by police after football betting investigations conducted by the Cremona flying squad and coordinated by the central operational service (SCO). Former star Italian footballer Beppe Signori reported to be among those detained. Prosecutors claim suspects belong to “criminal organisation”.

Officers allege that those arrested may have rigged a number of results of matches in the Serie B and Lega Pro championships in recent months. Magistrates in Cremona issued seven orders for pre-trail detention in prison and nine for house arrest. All those involved will face charges of fraud or sports fraud-related criminal association. Investigators think that the organisation’s bets on each match were worth several hundred thousand euros.

Among those arrested are betting shop owners and self-employed professionals while a further 28 people are under investigation but were not detained in custody. Arrests were made by officers in Bari, Como, Bologna, Rimini, Pescara, Ancona, Ascoli, Ravenna, Benevento, Rome, Turin, Naples and Ferrara. In the course of the operation, a number of searches were made at suspects’ homes, at several betting shops and at a firm of accountants. The searches are believed to have uncovered further elements of interest to investigators.

Famous Italian Footballers among arrested in Betting Scandal

The names of those arrested are starting to emerge. Among them is the former Lazio captain and Italy striker Beppe Signori, who is now under house arrest. Police also arrested Ascoli defender Vittorio Micolucci and midfielder Vincenzo Sommesse (under house arrest), along with Gianfranco Parlato, a former Serie B and Serie C footballer currently working for Viareggio (now in prison).

Italian Police : It ‘s a CRIMINAL ORGANISATION

The current and former professional footballers arrested were allegedly part of a “criminal organisation” in which each had a specific role and tasks for the purpose of manipulating match results to the organisation’s advantage. According to investigators, the suspects were able to rig a seriesr of matches with verbal agreements and promises of money. Investigators maintain that there is “significant, irrefutable evidence” against the sixteen arrested. As a result of the investigation, which began six months ago, officers are reported to have been able to identify the organisation’s interference in a football match at Cremona last year. According to the head of the Cremona flying squad, six Cremonese players suffered severe food poisoning after drinking beverages in November 2010. The police believe that the food poisoning was a deliberate attempt to rig the result of the match which was about to be played. The incident enabled officers to extend their investigations to a number of individuals in football circles who had the opportunity, through direct or indirect contact, to influence match results and then bet large sums of money through legitimate channels in Italy and abroad.