Italy captain Buffon probed for illegal gambling

Milan, June 1 — Italy football captain and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was interrogated by Turin tax police for his alleged involvement in illegal gambling.

Buffon was grilled Thursday but the investigations were not related to the latest match-fixing scandal that has hit Italian football, Xinhua reports.

Buffon was reportedly engaged in illegal wagers made last year to the tune of over 1.5 million euros ($1.8 million).

"I cannot confirm this news neither can deny it," Marco Squarcio, a tax police colonel in Turin, said.

Buffon had faced gambling allegations in the past but has always been cleared.

Earlier this week, Lazio skipper Stefano Mauri was arrested along with 14 other people, most of whom were footballers accused of receiving money to fix matches in favour of gambling groups.

Other people were also placed under investigation, including Juventus coach Antonio Conte, while Zenit Saint Petersburg defender Domenico Criscito was dropped from Italy's Euro 2012 squad after being named in the probe.

On Thursday, former Atalanta striker Cristiano Doni took a plea bargain of further two years' disqualification for his alleged involvement in the scandal.

The arrests were made as part of a widening investigation which has led until now to the arrest of a dozen people throughout Italy, including well-known players. The operation came five years after police uncovered a network rigging matches in Serie A and B.
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It pains me to post these articles, but I'm trying to keep the board somewhat alive while Devi is out.

All of these scandals are disgusting me.

sigh...hopefully one day Italian football will get completely pass these non sense!

How weird, we are back on top and we are being targeted by many authorities..
Also, right before the Euro12.. Why are they bringing up all the news right now? Ugly way to distract our team.

The only reason buffon is being investigated in a totally different case is because he spoke out ....unfortunately many things in Italy are like this

Buffon's bank transfer was for 20 Rolex watches and not sports betting, reveals lawyer

The World Cup winner is said to have handed over €1.5 million to a bookmaker but his legal counsel has claimed that there is no evidence that his client placed a single wager

The lawyer of Gianluigi Buffon has dismissed the suggestion that the Italy captain is guilty of illegal gambling, revealing that one of the payments he made to a Parma betting shop was for 20 Rolex watches.
According to a document produced by the country's financial law enforcement agency on Thursday, the Juventus goalkeeper made out 14 cheques, worth approximately €1.5 million, to the owner of the tobacconist over a nine-month period.

As a member of the Italian Football Federation, Buffon is forbidden from gambling on any games sanctioned by the FIGC, Fifa or Uefa, but his lawyer has stated that there is absolutely no evidence that his client placed bets of any variety.

"The most significant bank transfer, dating back to September 13, 2010, concerns the purchase of 20 Rolex watches, which have been in Gianluigi's safe for months," Marco Valerio Corini told Radio Radio TV.

"A purchase that is compatible with his income and one that is written in the random bank transfer. What else should he do? We can show that every payment was not related to sports betting."

Indeed, Corini is dismayed that Buffon is even under suspicion, claiming that there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the World Cup winner.

"If we want to get to the facts, it is not a criminal process or a sporting law interest," the lawyer argued on Sky Sport24.

"There is nothing that can be shown that Buffon has bet. These are economic transactions between two people who have known each other for years, one of whom also runs a betting shop.

"From there, there is no doubt that they could not be real estate transactions or otherwise; one thinks that they must necessarily be bets and what's more, illegal. But there is not even any proof that it is a bet.

"Buffon has been and is always available in a frank, loyal and cooperative manner."

The news that Buffon's transactions were under investigation came just days after the veteran launched a stinging attack on the nation's media for their coverage of the Scommessopoli scandal.
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Juventude we are gratefull for your efforts
i wish i could help you more...but i'm swamped with exams and my graduation paper until the middle of July.
keep up the work.