Professional football in Italy should be suspended for up to three years after a match-fixing row, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has suggested. He said that the scandal had caused "profound sadness" across the country. Mr Monti was speaking a day after a number of people - including Lazio's captain Stefano Mauri - were arrested. Police are searching more than 30 homes, including those of players, trainers and administrators of clubs in Serie A, Serie B and lower divisions. Juventus coach Antonio Conte, who just led the club to the Serie A title in his first season in charge, is among those being questioned by police. Officers also visited Italy's pre-Euro 2012 training camp to question left-back Domenico Criscito. The Italian football federation later announced that Criscito, who is now at Zenit St Petersburg in Russia, would not be selected for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine "in order to clear his name". Five people were also arrested in Hungary on suspicion of being part of an illegal international betting ring. 'Mere proposal' "I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to suspend the game for two or three years," Mr Monti said on Tuesday. "It's particularly sad when a world which should be an expression of the highest values - sport, youth, competition, fairness turns out to be a mass of foul play, falsehood and demagoguery." However, Mr Monti acknowledged that his suggestion was not "a proposal by the government but a question I am asking". Monday's arrests were part of a wider investigation which has already seen a number of arrests of current and former Italian players. In June last year, the interior ministry set up a special match-fixing task force in response to a number of high-profile cases. Former Atalanta captain and Italy midfielder Cristiano Doni was banned for three-and-a-half years in August for his part in the "Calcioscommesse" scandal involving Serie B matches last season. He was also arrested in December 2011 over match-fixing and betting allegations. Atalanta, promoted from Serie B, were deducted six points in the top flight this season as a result of the scandal. Former Lazio and Italy striker Giuseppe Signori was banned for five years, and 15 other players were banned for between one and five years for their involvement.
They will ban the culprits AFTER the Euro championships for a period of time until just BEFORE the world cup. They did that the last time with Rossi. They are a joke. This will be no different imo.
As Henry Cooper (a boxing legend) said about fighting in Italy "knock the geezer out and it will be a draw".
Big money business, says the prime minister better reel himself in, He is not exactly in the safest country in the world to upset match fixers etc. Mafia fixers maybe.
Agree, think that's a likely, likely outcome, barring Criscito who wasn't picked (Big loss). John Terry though. Different allegation but we could well be doing the exact same thing.
http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d7C4F?...medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=world-football One of these men wants to stop Italian people having fun (Getty) Italian football is no stranger to match fixing scandals, so it was no surprise this week when police arrested fourteen players in dawn raids in relation to soccer fraud, bringing the arrest tally to over fifty in the past year. Lazio captain Stefano Mauri was among the latest arrests, and although there is no immediate assumption of guilt, Zenit St. Petersburg defender Domenico Criscito has lost his place in Cesare Prandelli's Euro 2012 squad. It's a sad state of affairs, and the FIFA corruption hotline is probably ringing off the hook, but Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has come up with a practical solution to the match-fixing epidemic: stop playing football. That's right, just stop the game for a few years until everyone decides they can play without deliberately cheating for money. Fox Soccer reports: Monti said Tuesday he thinks it would be a good idea if Italian soccer was stopped for ''two to three years'' although he adds that ''it is not a proposal by the government but a question I am asking.'' Of course, for commercial and common sense reasons, Monti's suggestion could never come to pass — it's the equivalent of closing a school because some bullies are stealing lunch money. Clearly the Italian PM — who took over when AC Milan owner and controversy magnet Silvio Berlusconi resigned — isn't really a sports guy. Or a guy who likes fun.
As usual, it'll be the fans who get shafted. They may be many things, but they love their football in Italy...
Might be a bit OTT but they should. Demote them 4 divisions. They have to sell every player that got a 1st team game, league/Cups/Europe, They can sell for as much as the buying club will pay. Then they have to give all the cash to the other clubs in the division they got demoted too. If that is 200 million in transfers split between 19 clubs, then so be it. This will make it harder for them to get out of the divisions and come straight back up. The gate they have to charge 25% of the highest in that division, for the next 10 years (even if they get back into the top division in 4 years). So top is €10 a match in the 4th tier, max price of a ticket at those clubs is €2.50 May make some big names go bust, or never make it back, but they shouldnt have ****ing cheated in the first place.
