FIFA extends Italian match-fixing bans worldwide

LAUSANNE (AFP) –

Juventus coach Antonio Conte looking on during a match at the Juventus Stadium in Turin on January 6, 2013. Seventy players and officials sanctioned in Italy for their involvement in match-fixing between 2011 and 2012 saw their suspensions extended worldwide by FIFA’s disciplinary committee on Wednesday.

Seventy players and officials sanctioned in Italy for their involvement in match-fixing between 2011 and 2012 saw their suspensions extended worldwide by FIFA’s disciplinary committee on Wednesday.

Following three different legal proceedings led by the country over the course of last year, 106 individuals were charged with match-fixing, through direct involvement or by failing to report irregularities, illegal betting or corrupt organisation.

They included the coach of Serie A champions Juventus, Antonio Conte, who served a four-month ban from the game for failing to disclose knowledge of match-fixing during his time at Siena in the 2010-11 season.

The subsequent sanctions imposed by Italian authorities ranged from a one-month ban to a lifetime suspension with FIFA extending the domestic bans that had not already expired or been annulled on appeal.

Unnamed players from both Sierra Leone and Cameroon were also implicated in the “Calcioscommesse” scandal that rocked Italian football last year, striking lower division matches in particular.