Europe News

Former international Signori arrested in match-fixing scandal

Jun 1, 2011, 9:18 GMT

Rome - Italian police have arrested 16 people on charges of fixing matches in the Serie B and other minor leagues, the ANSA news agency reported Wednesday.

Among those arrested is former international striker Giuseppe Signori, 43, who was placed under house arrest.

Active and former footballers and owners of betting agencies were also arrested.

Several other people are being investigated, including former Sampdoria defender Stefano Bettarini, who was involved in a similar scandal in 2004 and received a five-month ban.

Investigations that began six months ago in Cremona, south-west of Milan, have spread to a dozen other towns, exposing a wide criminal organization that profited from betting on games they managed to rig.

Police in Cremona opened the probe after players of the local lower-division team appeared to have been offered a drink containing a sedative during a league game.