A €250 fine to close the case. This is the almost grotesque conclusion of the Milan investigation into illegal betting that had shaken the world of Italian soccer. The Milan Prosecutor's Office has ruled out any possibility of match-fixing or manipulation: none of the twenty-two suspects had bet on matches in which they were involved. In most cases, the bets involved were on other sports or online poker platforms.
Among the footballers involved, the names of stand out: Sandro Tonali e Niccolò Fagioli, already sanctioned in the sporting field, who will now be able to avoid criminal proceedings by paying an administrative fine of 250 euros.
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The other twenty suspects, including Alessandro Florenzi, Nicolò Zaniolo, Mattia Perin, Weston McKennie, Ángel Di María, Leandro Paredes, Raoul Bellanova, Samuele Ricci, Matteo Cancellieri, Cristian Buonaiuto, Héctor Junior Firpo, and tennis player Matteo Gigante, are only charged with participating in unauthorized gambling.
The law allows the case to be closed with a simple payment: since it's a violation punishable by up to three months' imprisonment or a fine of up to €500, the suspects will be able to dismiss the case without legal consequences. This outcome leaves more than a few questions about the increasingly blurred line between moral responsibility and legal culpability in the world of multi-million dollar football.
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