Italian Soccer Subject of New Match-Fixing Allegations

After a strange result in the Coppa Sicilia match between Borgata Terrenove and Bagheria, the Italian football federation is looking into a possible match-fixing scandal.

Borgata Terrenove defeated their rivals 14-3, but the crazy part involved Bagheria scoring eight own goals in the final 10 minutes. Unsurprisingly, this has led to a probe by the governing body, according to Don Mackay of the Daily Mirror.

Mackay quotes the FIGC's regional president Sandro Morgana who discussed the issue, "I will personally inform our prosecutors about this and they will look into the case and establish which sanctions should apply."

Giovanni Cammarata, the coach of the winning side, explained, "I can guarantee there was no agreement between us and Bagheria. I can't try to understand a motive for these eight own goals. It has nothing to do with football and I hope the FIGC investigates."

These two clubs are among the lower-level squads in Italy, each competing in the Prima Categoria. This is the eighth-flight league in the country filled with numerous groups and regions competing to be the best.

With this 14-3 result, Terrenove advanced to the next stage over Partinicaudace, who was also in the three-team group.

This is not the first allegation of match fixing to be involved in Italian football. In December, former AC Milan star Gennaro Gattuso was accused of criminal conspiracy and sports fraud in an incident involving multiple arrests, according to The Guardian.

Of course, Theo van Seggelen of FIFPro points out that it is not always on the players:

He was referencing a recent scandal in Malaysia that also featured match fixing, but it applies to other situations.

With this Italian case, the FIGC should investigate the whole situation to make sure all sporting events remain clean and legitimate. 

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