Gambling is a plague and the Italy
players who have allegedly been hit by gambling addiction will
not be abandoned, Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) President
Gabriele Gravina said Tuesday.
Juventus midfielder Nicolò Fagioli, Newcastle United attacking
midfielder Sandro Tonali and Aston Villa attacking midfielder
Niccolò Zaniolo have been named in a betting probe and Tonali
and Zaniolo were sent home from Italy training camp for
Saturday's 4-0 win over Malta and Tuesday's match at Wembley
against England in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Roma's Poland left-back Nicola Zalewski has also been named by
disgraced former paparazzo to the stars Fabrizio Corona, who
says he has 50 other names to reveal.
"Those who made a mistake will have to pay, and we will do
everything possible to get a verdict as quickly as possible.
But, beyond the individual error, we will never abandon the
players involved. They will pay if they made a mistake but then
we will help them," said Gravina on the betting affair, as a
guest of the Italian Embassy in London.
"In Italy there are one and a half million gamblers.
"And there is a contradiction: on the one hand, the state earns
about 16 billion euros from gambling, while we find ourselves
having to convince young people not to gamble."
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