Convicted Gossip Columnist Claims to Have Damning Evidence of Italian Footballers Gambling
Milan full-back Alessandro Florenzi was spotted visiting the office of Federation prosecutor Giuseppe Chinè to give further evidence in a massive gambling investigation, this according to La Republica.
He had already provided a full deposition to the public prosecutor in Turin last month related to a gambling probe that has brought Italian football to its knees.
Florenzi is said to have told the investigators that, while he did gamble using illegal sites on games of chance like roulette and blackjack, he never placed bets on actual sporting events.
Republica suggests he "may have knowledge of other players who gambled or there might be more evidence that has emerged requiring clarification".
It is being reported that Florenzi does not risk a ban at this time.
A now convicted gossip columnist. Fabrizio Corona, claimed he has audio that proves Florenzi, Nicolò Zaniolo and four other players gambling.
“Yesterday I received an extraordinary audio recording that I will publish in around 10 days’ time with proof that Zaniolo and four other players are gambling. They are four different names to the ones I have already released.
“Among them is a certain ‘Ale Dubai’, which is the nickname used by Florenzi. This investigation is not over.”
Corona was sentenced to seven months in prison for resisting arrest and punching through the window of an ambulance that had been sent to help him in March 2021. He had been looking at a potential ten year prison sentence.
He already spent time in jail for blackmailing people, including football players and clubs, with photographs taken during his career as the so-called King of the Paparazzi, according to football-italia.net.
Italian football player Sandro Tonali was among the first named players banned from playing in any games, even those as a new member of Newcastle.
The extensive probe has reportedly netted nearly 40 players. The Italian star will also miss the Euro 2024.
The scandal first broke on October 11 following revelations that Juventus’s 22-year-old midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was under probe by prosecutors in Turin for using illegal betting platforms to gamble on football matches.
Zaniolo was also among the early footballers questioned.
- Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com
