After Juventus midfielder Nicolò Fagioli, now there are reports that Sandro Tonali of Newcastle and Aston Villa’s Nicolò Zaniolo are also under investigation for betting breaches.
So far, only Fagioli is formally under investigation and his lawyers assure it was the Juve midfielder who handed himself in to the authorities for betting on illegal sites.
It is not yet clear if he was betting on games organised by the FIGC, UEFA or FIFA, or indeed if it was about football or other sporting events.
Gossip specialist Fabrizio Corona had broken news of Fagioli’s involvement months ago and promised to reveal more Italy internationals who had been placing bets.
He announced today via his personal site Dillinger News that those names were Zaniolo and Tonali.
They were in Serie A until recently at Roma and Milan respectively.
Corona makes the far more serious allegation that one of these players was “betting on his own team when he was sitting on the bench.”
This would be extremely damaging if confirmed and illegal, potentially leading to far more than a mere fine and suspension from the sport.
Corona, who recently spent time in prison for amongst other things illegally obtaining photographs and trying to blackmail clubs and players with them, has also threatened to name “all the homosexual players in football.”
This afternoon, Corona also published audio of him being taken in by police to testify as a witness in the Fagioli investigation.
Corona had claimed four months ago that Fagioli was suffering from a gambling addiction.