ROME-A dozen Serie A football players, including Sandro Tonali and Nicolò Fagioli, are under investigation for participating in an elaborate betting ring, that involved over one and a half million euros.

The investigation is being conducted by the Guardia di Finanza of Milan, who has seized over one and a half million dollars and closed a company for illegal betting activities and money laundering. The PM of the investigation, Paolo Filippini and Roberto Amadeo, has requested an interrogation and for a house arrest of the five suspects.

According to the Corriere della Sera, the investigation began with the confiscation of phones in October 2023 by the Turin Guardia di Finanza. The phones belonged to the AC Milan midfielder, Sandro Tonali (now with Newcastle), and the Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli (now with Fiorentina).

Through the search of the players’ phones, investigators began to piece together the betting ring and the illegal platforms that were used for the exchange of money. The phones revealed the two names of the managers of the websites, Tommaso de Giacomo and Patrick Fizzera. The managers had help from three workers from a jewelry store in Milan, Antonio Scinocca, Antonio Parise and Andrea Piccini. The purpose of the jewelry store was to act as a bank to allow for the exchange of the players’ debts.

According to the investigators, the players would receive credits from the betting managers’ website and were then led to the jewelry store. There they would pay for luxury watches; however the watches remained in the shop, so as to use the expensive purchase to pay off the debts the players owed.

The players were not betting on games but other activities.

The case took place from 2021-2023 and involved the Serie A players: Sandro Tonali, Nicolò Fagioli,Alessandro Florenzi, Nicolò Zaniolo, Mattia Perin, Weston James Earl McKennie, Leandro Paredes, Angel Di Maria, Raoul Bellanova, Samuele Ricci, Cristian Buonaiuto, Matteo Cancellieri, and Adames Hector Junior Firpo.

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