The Italian FA (FIGC) has banned Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli for at least seven months over breaches of betting rules, according to a statement released Tuesday.
The FIGC ban is for 12 months in total, five of which are suspended provided Fagioli completes a six-month course of therapy for gambling issues and attends at least 10 public meetings.
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Fagioli, 22, has also been fined €12,500 ($13,235) for the violations relating to betting on footballing events organised by the FIGC, FIFA or UEFA.
The FIGC reserves the right to oversee Fagioli’s compliance with the commutative measures and the ability to terminate the agreement should they not be met.
In a far-reaching case with prosecutors in Turin also carrying out a criminal investigation, Premier League players Sandro Tonali and Nicolò Zaniolo were questioned by police at Italy’s training camp last week and more Serie A players could be implicated.
Fagioli, who has already been seeing a therapist for his problem, alerted the Italian soccer federation’s prosecutor about the case and has been co-operating with authorities to mitigate his punishment.
That allowed the minimum ban of three years for players betting on soccer matches to be greatly reduced. Fagioli has reportedly never bet on matches involving Juventus.
It was made public last Wednesday that Fagioli was being investigated for alleged gambling breaches, with Turin’s public prosecutor confirming La Stampa Daily’s reports that the player is involved in a criminal probe targeting users of illegal online betting platforms, along with other unnamed suspects.
Fagioli has played in six of Juve’s eight Serie A matches this season. Last November he made his debut for Italy, coming on as a substitute in a 3-1 away friendly win against Albania.
He is not in the squad for the current round of international games. Italy face England at Wembley on Tuesday evening.
Fagioli’s punishment was in line with what FIGC president Gabriele Gravina said earlier Tuesday, that players with a gambling addiction needed help rather than heavy sanctions.
“These boys are like children to me and they cannot be lambs to the slaughter as they are becoming. It is not a civil way in a civil country,” Gravina said. “In Italy there exists a disease: gambling addiction is a social plague, not just one of Italian soccer. There are 5.1 million people who play and 1.5 million are suffering. It is unsurprising that some of them are also involved in soccer.
“We will not back down. But we don’t just want to condemn — and those who make mistakes will be punished — all those who ask for help will have it. The FIGC must not only punish, but support with the recovery process.”
Tonali, who joined Newcastle from Milan in the offseason, met with prosecutors in Turin on Tuesday and will be hoping that by collaborating with authorities he will receive a similar sanction to Fagioli.
“Sandro is playing an important match against gambling addiction. He will win this one, too,” said Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso. “I liked what Gravina said, it’s important that the boys don’t feel alone. Well done to Newcastle, which has always been by Sandro’s side.”
The Zaniolo situation appears to be different. Zaniolo, who is on loan at Aston Villa from Galatasaray, reportedly said he played blackjack on a website that he was unaware was illegal but that he has never bet on soccer matches.
If true, Zaniolo likely would only be fined by the prosecutors, not banned by the FIGC.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.