UEFA said that it was "shocked by reports that Italian second division games had been fixed" for €100,000 ($111,500), according to the AFP. UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino reacted after Serie B club Catania President Antonino Pulvirenti reportedly admitted to "buying the results of five matches in the past season." Infantino: "We are of course sad to learn what is happening. We are worried that a second division club can fix five matches paying €100,000 per match. We are worried about the situation and in general and that is why we are fighting against it." Italian police have arrested five people, including Pulvirenti, over the "latest match-fixing scandal to rock Italian football." Infantino said, "Unfortunately we are dealing with criminal organizations." UEFA is now using a "sophisticated data collection system to monitor all first and second division games in Europe." There are also anti-fraud officers in each of UEFA's 54 members (AFP, 6/30).
TAVECCHIO BACKS CONTE: FOOTBALL ITALIA reported Italian Football Federation (FIGC) President Carlo Tavecchio insisted national team Manager Antonio Conte "will remain" Italy's coach. It was reported on Tuesday that Conte "had been indicted for alleged sporting fraud, relating to his time at Siena." Tavecchio: "I spoke with him this morning, and there's nothing new. ... An indictment is not a conviction." Turning to the Catania match-fixing case, Tavecchio was "strident,
calling on biblical imagery as he discussed cleaning up the game." He said, "We've already started, but we have to drive the money changers from
the temple. This is the most important thing in the mind of the FIGC" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 6/30).
