This footballer in the Italian Serie A could face a four-year ban from all football competitions for his alleged involvement in match fixing. It is not just him alone, the Diego Giordano, a 40-year-old pizzeria owner in Udine could also face sanctions.
How did the match fixing happen? The player who is a goalie was booked for time-wasting in the 64th minute during one of the games in March 2024. Time wasting is a type of match fixing in addition to those from the ref and other officials.
Match fixing happens everywhere but it is only easier to detect in the smaller leagues
I’m not surprised. I have seen many cases, and I believe there are many more we can’t find out about. Match fixing been a hidden part of football for years and it’s not limited only to smaller leagues. Even in big leagues like Serie A as this case shows it’s still happening.
In our local league, I seen suspicious things like referees giving strange penalties, players making unusual mistakes or even substitutions that don’t make sense. Sometimes, these actions turn out to be linked to match fixing, and other times they just raise questions we never get answers to.
Let’s hope cases like this make people more aware and encourage stronger measures to protect the spirit of football and its taste without cheating.