Catania president arrested for alleged match fixing
Roy Manuell
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24 June 2015
Catania's Antonio Pulvirenti is accused of paying for match wins
ROME - Catania president Antonio Pulvirenti among seven people arrested on Tuesday over alleged match fixing in Serie B. The Sicilian club who finished 15th in the 2014/15 Serie B season, has been accused of paying for match wins throughout last season in an attempt to avoid relegation from the second tier of Italian football. Catania, who enjoyed a surprising five game consecutive winning streak including a 3-0 away win at Varese in early April of this year are thought to have paid for at least four of these results, eventually finishing the Serie B season 2 points above the relegation zone. Consequently, president Antonio Pulvirenti, his deputy, Pablo Cosentino, and former director of sport Daniele Delli Carri have all been arrested as well as 16 others that include several players. The players said to be involved are rumoured to have received 10 000 euros on average per game for their role in the scandal which is now thought to be linked to betting scams. Two members of the online gambling industry have since been put under house arrest.
The accused Pulvirenti has stated that he has the ‘utmost confidence in the judiciary’ and feels ‘certain’ of his innocence but Serie B president Andrea Abodi has lamented the damage already done: ‘My first reaction is one of great pain because we work hard every day to make sure the league is credible and to help our reputation grow.’
The scandal follows last month’s arrests where 50 were detained under similar accusations of fixing third-tier and semi-professional Italian league fixtures and has done nothing to improve the global reputation of Italian football that was deeply tarnished in 2006 when Lazio, Fiorentina and Juventus were all found guilty and subsequently punished for the Calciopoli match fixing scandal, the latter being stripped of 2 league titles.