The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have confirmed that Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli has been handed a seven-month ban from football for illegal betting, after agreeing a plea bargain with Italian prosecutors.
The 22-year-old has also been fined €12,500 for breaching Article 24 of the sporting justice code, which forbids betting of any kind on football events organised by the FIGC, UEFA and FIFA.
Fagioli was originally set to be handed a 12-month ban from football, but five of those months will be suspended, with the midfielder ordered to undergo treatment for gambling addiction for at least six months.
The one-cap Italy international’s ban will therefore end his season with Juventus, but the punishment is significantly less severe than the three-year ban from football he could have faced.
A statement from the FIGC read: “The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has reached an agreement (pursuant to art. 126 CGS) with the footballer Nicolo Fagioli following which he will be sanctioned with a 12-month disqualification, 5 of which will be commuted to alternative prescriptions, and a fine of 12,500 euros, for the violation of art.24 of the CGS which prohibits the possibility of placing bets on football events organized by FIGC, UEFA and FIFA.
“Regarding alternative prescriptions, Fagioli will have to participate in a therapeutic plan lasting a minimum of 6 months and in a cycle of at least 10 public meetings, to be held within 5 months, at amateur sports associations, federal territorial centres, centres for recovery from gambling addiction, and in any case according to the indications and program proposed by the FIGC.
“Federale will monitor compliance with what is indicated and, in case of violations, will adopt the measures within its competence, pursuant to the CGS, with termination of the agreement and continuation of the disciplinary proceedings before the sports justice adjudicating bodies.”
Fagioli, who has made 45 senior appearances for Juventus since his debut in 2021, has admitted to gambling on football matches, but his bets never involved his own team.
The midfielder’s lengthy ban comes around five months after Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney was given an eight-month ban from football after accepting 232 breaches of the FA’s rules on betting.
In comparison to Fagioli, Toney placed a total of 126 bets on football games including 29 on his own club, with 13 of those bets placed on his own team to lose; the striker also withheld information during the enquiries and was handed a £50,000 fine.
Fagioli’s punishment comes at a time when over 40 Italian players are allegedly suspected of being involved in a major betting scandal, including Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali and Aston Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo.
Both Tonali and Zaniolo were forced to withdraw from the Italy squad during this month’s international break due to the investigation by Italian prosecutors into alleged illegal betting.
Tonali is said to be seeing a therapist to treat a gambling addiction and on Tuesday afternoon attended the prosecutor’s office at the Court of Turin where he is expected to denounce himself in front of prosecutors.
