Buffon in illegal betting scandal
Prosecutors in Turin and Parma are investigating several players, including Buffon, Iuliano, Chimenti and Sevilla’s UEFA-Cup winner Maresca, in an illegal betting ring.
Buffon, who is currently Juventus’ and Italy’s first choice goalkeeper, is believed to have gambled up to 600,000 € in one year on Serie A matches.
If found guilty, he is likely to be banned and could miss the World Cup. The law is quite clear in regard to this: the FIGC prohibits registered players from gambling on matches in their own championship, and those found guilty of breaking this rule face bans between three months and three years.
Paradoxically, while the latest events are sending shockwaves throughout Italy, many are hopeful that all this may have a similar effect to the 1982 WC. Fourteen years ago, with only months to go before the start of the Azzurri’s campaign, a match-fixing scandal involving several high profile players, including top-scorer Paolo Rossi, rocked the Italian football world. With stars such as Beccalossi and Pruzzo banned, a low morale and even lower expectations, after a slow start Italy went on to win the cup.
