At the end of May 2012, in a conversation with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti proposed banning football matches in the country for 2-3 years. Monty clarified that his statement is not official, it is just the wish of a fan who would like the sport to remain fair.
Most likely, such a ban is not possible, since Italy is integrated into European football. This will lead to the decline of the national team and huge financial losses. Giancarlo Abete, the head of the Football Federation, called such a measure unrealistic. He believes that the introduction of a moratorium on matches for at least one year will simply kill football and at the same time affect many people who honestly do their job. In addition, do not forget that the state treasury will lose about a billion euros, because football is funded by private companies.
The reason for the statement of Mario Monti was a new scandal around fixing matches. In this regard, over 30 people were arrested in Italy over the past year. Most of the suspicions of investigators fall on the players in the lower divisions, but Serie A is increasingly embroiled in the scandal. This time in the area of increased attention last year's match Lazio - Genoa. During the investigation, 19 people were detained. The main suspect was Zenit player Dominico Crisito. Just a week before the start of the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine, he was expelled from the Italian national team.
Fixed matches, the result of which is agreed in advance by a narrow circle of people, are not uncommon in the sports world. At the same time, the fans do not even suspect that they are watching just such a game. A typical match-fixing scenario is the loss of the favorite team, on which the majority of fans are betting. In some cases, a contractual match can be beneficial to both playing teams, if, for example, they are satisfied with a draw. It is also possible to organize two such games at once with each team winning alternately. Despite the presence of indirect signs, it is difficult to prove the fact of collusion.
Mario Monti noted that a ban on tournaments would benefit Italian football. Ordinary fans would only benefit from this.
