Gossip columnist Fabrizio Corona has claimed that at least 10 other football players are involved in the ongoing and growing betting scandal within Italian football.
Corona spoke to Il Corriere della Sera in an article published on Saturday morning, during which he explained that at least five or six agents and clubs are also involved.
During his interview, Corona also gave some clues as to his source, whom he claims is a relative of a former Inter player from Jose Mourinho’s time at San Siro.
Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was first accused of illegal betting by Corona back in August and admitted to it when speaking to investigators in Turin on Thursday.
Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo were then questioned by police at Coverciano on Thursday evening, before the Premier League pair withdrew from the squad.
Roma’s Nicola Zalewski was named as the fourth player involved in the growing investigation on Friday, but Corona’s latest claim is that there are more players, and more clubs set to be named before long.
“Know that at least 10 other footballers, five or six agents and clandestine gambling dens are also involved,” Corona told Il Corriere in Saturday’s leading story.
When asked how many different clubs are involved in the scandal, Corona replied: “Five, six. I can’t name them, otherwise I’ll be investigated.”
In response to questions over the police presence at Coverciano earlier in the week, Corona replied: “They would never have gone there if Dillinger hadn’t mentioned the names. They knew about it, but they would have waited until after the Italy match.
“We are practically doing two parallel investigations,” he continued. “This is the first time I’ve worked with the prosecutor’s office as a, let’s say, infamous person.
“I will tell everything on Nunzia Di Girolamo’s program immediately after the match. We will name other names and reveal our source of the news. He is the uncle of a former player from Mourinho’s Inter, a close friend of Mario Balotelli.
“Mario is a friend of mine, he’s come here to see me lots of times, he was shocked by the evidence I gave him. Everything has been verified, on Tuesday, we will send out an interview and we will name the others, little by little.”
Asked if there are any other players from the national team set-up involved, Corona responded: Yes. There are also Presidents.
“Do you know what the problem is?,” Corona asked, before providing the answer: These players are sick. Gambling is a serious addiction, like cocaine, they are exploited by the system.
“First they play slots, blackjack, then gambling dens, before becoming a victim of the underworld. These are the ones I know about, but there will be others,” he warned.
IS this corona dude an english fan? What’s he trying to do? get every italian removed from the team?
A mad dog; all these to what end?
Corona knows All about the booger sugar. What a POS