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8. Calciopoli (2006)
Italy has had its fair share of match-fixing scandals. One of the most popular, tagged as Calciopoli, occurred in 2006. Intercepted phone calls revealed that some teams had been in contact with referee organizations so they could select favorable referees. Teams in trouble included Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Reggina.
The punishments saw club owners, referees and top club officials receive lengthy bans. Some, like former Fiorentina co-owner Andrea Della Valle and former Juventus director Luciano Moggi, were given prison sentences in addition to their football bans. Clubs received punishment as well, with Juventus relegated to Serie B and stripped of two Serie A titles.
Players like Fabio Cannavaro and Zlatan Ibrahimovic decided to leave Juventus after they were relegated. Nearly 35 international stars left Serie A after the scandal and moved to other leagues in Europe.
7. Totonero (1980)
This is yet another Italy-based match-fixing scandal that saw players like Italian World Cup winner Paolo Rossi led away from his dressing room in handcuffs. Rossi later rejoined the Italian national team and led the Azzurri to a World Cup win in 1982.
The massive scandal, termed Totenero by the Italian media, was uncovered when a newspaper discovered a match-fixing ring involving Lazio players. The heads of the ring were greengrocers in Italy's capital city, and the players were regulars in their establishment.
Milan and Lazio were relegated from Serie A, and over 20 players, club owners, and top club officials were given prison time. Unfortunately, this won't be the last time Italy is mentioned on this list.
6. Cremonese vs Paganese (Serie C)
In another bizarre incident that transpired in Italy, former Cremonese goalkeeper Marco Paolini was found guilty of spiking the drinks and waterbottles of his teammates with tranquilizers!
Paolini was so deep in gambling debts that he was willing to fix the game to pay them off. Cremonese players were sluggish and lethargic during the game, with some struggling to walk. One player notably crashed their car on the way home afterwards.
When tests showed that they had been drugged, investigations were launched and eventually pointed at Paolini as the main culprit. The former goalkeeper was eventually banned for five years.
5. Olympique de Marseille (1993)
Marseille notably won the UEFA Champions League in 1993, while picking up their fourth Ligue 1 title in a row. Dominating French football and consolidating their pole position in Europe suddenly looked pointless as Marseille were found guilty of match-fixing.
Bernard Tapie, former owner of Marseilles and Adidas, was discovered to have offered money to Valenciennes to lose against Marseilles. Tapie's intention was apparently to ensure that his team didn't have to deal with injury or lower conditioning in the finals of the Champions League.
Consequently, Marseilles were relegated to Ligue 2 and stripped of their Ligue 1 title win. Tapie himself was handed a lifetime ban from football.
