Signori investigated in match-fixing sting

Former Italy striker Beppe Signori was among 28 people placed under investigation by Italian police over suspected match fixing in the Serie B.

According to police, those under investigation included a number of well-known footballers who are currently active in the sport.

The case initially came to the attention of the police after players from the Serie B side Cremona were found to have been doped before a match.

“Using our technical apparatus we discovered the fact that some of the footballers’ drinks had been drugged in order to negatively affect their performance and this was connected to what we discovered was a betting circuit,” chief investigator Sergio Lo Presti said.

“This circuit planned and agreed on certain sporting events in a way that bets on these events could be placed in the range of tens of thousands of euros and in some cases hundreds of thousands of euros, achieving in this manner large amounts of money.”

Police in cities across Italy, including Rome, Turin, Naples and Bologna issued detention orders for 16 people after an investigation lasting several months.

“The conversations we tapped were extremely clear, extremely clear,” prosecutor Roberto di Martino said.

“These gentlemen believed they were using safe lines, but we intercepted the calls and they were speaking completely freely without any fear of being intercepted.”

Former international Signori, a member of the Italian squad that reached the final of the 1994 World Cup, was placed under house arrest as were seven others.