Cagliari released a statement denying reports in Spanish paper El Pais that their Serie A game with Frosinone was rigged as part of the Operation Oikos investigation.
The newspaper claims leaked wiretaps from the police show some Serie A matches were the subject of attempted match-fixing by the Spanish group, specifically Cagliari’s 1-0 win over Frosinone on April 20.
Cagliari released a statement denying reports in Spanish paper El Pais that their Serie A game with Frosinone was rigged as part of the Operation Oikos investigation.
The newspaper claims leaked wiretaps from the police show some Serie A matches were the subject of attempted match-fixing by the Spanish group, specifically Cagliari’s 1-0 win over Frosinone on April 20.
It was decided by a penalty when Francesco Zampano clattered into Artur Ionita on a counter-attack, Joao Pedro converting successfully 27 minutes in.
Cagliari went down to 10 men after Paolo Faragò received his second yellow card and goalkeeper Alessio Cragno made a decisive late save to deny Camillo Ciano’s free kick.
The Sardinian club released a statement this afternoon denying the allegations and making clear that they are mentioned in the investigation not as suspects, but as unwitting elements in the attempted fix.
There had already been reports in El Pais based on wiretaps that the criminal organisation had set up a meeting with Frosinone players to see who was willing to fix a game.
The Canarini were already relegated at this point, making them ideal targets for an illegal betting syndicate.
The only evidence so far is that Carlos Aranda and Mattia Mariotti discussed the possibility of fixing a game, with Mariotti declaring strong connections and figures who owed money to an illegal betting ring.
These names included Lazio striker Ciro Immobile – who has strenuously denied any knowledge of this – and the Frosinone team manager.