- Tonali and Fagioli’s phones led prosecutors to uncover more involved players
- Around 20 additional footballers are under investigation for poker and sports betting on illegal sites
- Financial police seized €1.5 million and requested house arrest for five site managers
Key Takeaways:
The scandal involving illegal betting in Serie A is flaring up again. The Milan prosecutor’s office is investigating a dozen footballers who played in Italy’s top division between 2021 and 2023 for placing bets on unregulated platforms.
Once again, the names of Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Fagioli have resurfaced, both of whom have already received suspensions. It was the chats found on their phones that directed investigators toward the other individuals involved.
Among those being investigated, in addition to Tonali and Fagioli, are Argentina World Cup winners and former Juventus players Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, Fiorentina’s Nicolo Zaniolo (who was at Roma at the time), current Juventus players Mattia Perin and Weston McKennie, Milan’s Alessandro Florenzi, Atalanta defender Raoul Bellanova (then with Inter and Torino), Torino midfielder Samuele Ricci (then at Empoli), Leeds defender Junior Firpo, tennis player Matteo Gigante, and others.
Reports in Italy claim that 12 Serie A players, including Weston McKennie, Nicolò Zaniolo, Leandro Paredes, and Raoul Bellanova, have been named in a new investigation for illegal online betting. pic.twitter.com/VPECwz3xu3
— Football Italia (@footballitalia) April 11, 2025
None of them are being accused of match-fixing, but rather of placing bets on other sports and playing online poker on illegal platforms. From a criminal standpoint, the players face up to three months of arrest and fines of up to €500. However, the situation is more serious in terms of sporting justice, where they risk sanctions similar to those already faced by Tonali and Fagioli.
All players are being investigated for gambling and playing poker on illegal platforms run by Serie D referee Pietro Marinoni, a friend of Sandro Tonali’s sister. Moreover, Tonali and Fagioli are said to have promoted these platforms to other players, receiving bonuses and debt reductions as a reward from the sites.
It is alleged that the players repaid their debts through simulated purchases of Rolex watches from a jewellery shop in Milan—by bank transfer. The newspaper La Repubblica revealed the amounts paid by some players: Fagioli nearly €700,000, Florenzi €155,000, Tonali €57,000. In a raid, Italy’s financial police seized €1.5 million from two managers of illegal betting platforms (Tommaso De Giacomo and Patrick Fisera), and house arrest has been requested for a total of five managers of illegal betting sites.
Around twenty other players are under investigation for participating in illegal platforms not related to football betting, but rather in games not authorised by the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency—specifically, online poker games.