ROME (AFP) - Former Italy striker Giuseppe Signori was among 16 people arrested for match-fixing in a co-ordinated sting by Italian police on Wednesday.
Amongst those targeted were ex Serie A players and current players from both Serie B and Serie C as well as club directors from the lower leagues, all suspected of being part of an organisation that rigged games to fix bets.
Eighteen matches are under investigation including this season's Serie A encounter between Inter Milan and Lecce.
Matches involving Siena and Atalanta, who both earned promotion to Serie A, are also under the microscope.
Atalanta's veteran captain Cristiano Doni has been named in the investigation but the club has made no comment on the affair.
Doni is alleged to have collaborated with the organisation to ensure at least three goals were scored in his club's match against Piacenza on March 19, it ended 3-0 to Atalanta.
The investigation was led by the mobile squad from Cremona but also included help from police forces from a dozen other towns, including Rome, Naples and Turin.
Magistrates in Cremona issued seven arrest warrants and nine orders for detention under house arrest, of which Signori's was one of the latter.
Amongst those arrested were also employees of betting shops, while the investigation concerns around 30 people in total.
Those arrested formed part of a criminal syndicate in which everyone had a specific role with the view to manipulating matches in the organisation's favour.
The suspects managed to fix certain results through verbal agreements and payments, according to Cremona judge Guido Salvini.
"The activities of the association are ongoing and having an effect on the end of the season in various leagues (not yet finished) with serious consequences for the clubs, for punters and for the fairness of sporting competition," said Salvini.
"There is a risk that some results in various competitions have already been fixed.
"You only need to consider that Atalanta and Siena were recently promoted to Serie A and they're two of the clubs involved."
The investigation was launched six months ago and investigators used a match in Cremona to try to determine who was behind the organisation.
Signori, now 43, was one of Italy's top strikers in the 1990s and was top scorer in Serie A three times with Lazio, with whom he won the Italian Cup once.
He refused to comment on the allegations, saying only he would be talking to his lawyer, who will then speak for him.
He is the eighth highest scorer of all-time in Serie A with 188 goals.
He made his name with Foggia under Zdenek Zeman in what became known as the miracle of Foggia.
He was part of an attacking triumvirate, alongside Ciccio Baiano and Roberto Rambaudi, who were the focal point of Foggia's attacking style under Zeman, which became known as Zemanlandia in the Italian press.
It is only five years since several clubs were punished for their part in the infamous Calciopoli match-fixing scandal in which teams asked for specific referees, known to be friendly towards them, for their matches.
Juventus were relegated and stripped of two titles while AC Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina were all hit with point deductions.
Italy and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon spent a year in Serie B due to the actions of the club's driectors.
"Certainly we didn't need this at this time," he said. "Now we must wait. Until there is something more definite we shouldn't make judgements."
Amongst those targeted were ex Serie A players and current players from both Serie B and Serie C as well as club directors from the lower leagues, all suspected of being part of an organisation that rigged games to fix bets.
Eighteen matches are under investigation including this season's Serie A encounter between Inter Milan and Lecce.
Matches involving Siena and Atalanta, who both earned promotion to Serie A, are also under the microscope.
Atalanta's veteran captain Cristiano Doni has been named in the investigation but the club has made no comment on the affair.
Doni is alleged to have collaborated with the organisation to ensure at least three goals were scored in his club's match against Piacenza on March 19, it ended 3-0 to Atalanta.
The investigation was led by the mobile squad from Cremona but also included help from police forces from a dozen other towns, including Rome, Naples and Turin.
Magistrates in Cremona issued seven arrest warrants and nine orders for detention under house arrest, of which Signori's was one of the latter.
Amongst those arrested were also employees of betting shops, while the investigation concerns around 30 people in total.
Those arrested formed part of a criminal syndicate in which everyone had a specific role with the view to manipulating matches in the organisation's favour.
The suspects managed to fix certain results through verbal agreements and payments, according to Cremona judge Guido Salvini.
"The activities of the association are ongoing and having an effect on the end of the season in various leagues (not yet finished) with serious consequences for the clubs, for punters and for the fairness of sporting competition," said Salvini.
"There is a risk that some results in various competitions have already been fixed.
"You only need to consider that Atalanta and Siena were recently promoted to Serie A and they're two of the clubs involved."
The investigation was launched six months ago and investigators used a match in Cremona to try to determine who was behind the organisation.
Signori, now 43, was one of Italy's top strikers in the 1990s and was top scorer in Serie A three times with Lazio, with whom he won the Italian Cup once.
He refused to comment on the allegations, saying only he would be talking to his lawyer, who will then speak for him.
He is the eighth highest scorer of all-time in Serie A with 188 goals.
He made his name with Foggia under Zdenek Zeman in what became known as the miracle of Foggia.
He was part of an attacking triumvirate, alongside Ciccio Baiano and Roberto Rambaudi, who were the focal point of Foggia's attacking style under Zeman, which became known as Zemanlandia in the Italian press.
It is only five years since several clubs were punished for their part in the infamous Calciopoli match-fixing scandal in which teams asked for specific referees, known to be friendly towards them, for their matches.
Juventus were relegated and stripped of two titles while AC Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina were all hit with point deductions.
Italy and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon spent a year in Serie B due to the actions of the club's driectors.
"Certainly we didn't need this at this time," he said. "Now we must wait. Until there is something more definite we shouldn't make judgements."
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