AC Milan defender Alessandro Florenzi is the latest Italian player to be implicated in an investigation into alleged illegal gambling activities. This follows the recent scandal involving Sandro Tonali, Nicolo Fagioli, and Nicolo Zaniolo, who were also named in the probe by the Italian Prosecutor’s Office and Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
Tonali and Fagioli have already reached plea bargains with the FIGC, resulting in them being banned for 10 months and seven months, respectively. Tonali admitted to betting on matches involving his former club AC Milan. Zaniolo, on the other hand, is seeking a full acquittal and denies betting on football matches. He claims to have only placed bets on online poker and blackjack games, which are not in violation of the Sports Justice Code.
Now, Florenzi has also been caught up in the gambling scandal. He has been informed by authorities that he is under formal investigation, facing the same charge as Zaniolo – betting on online games rather than football matches. While it is prohibited for footballers to gamble on anything at all, the punishment is expected to be less severe for Florenzi, possibly resulting in a fine if he is found guilty.
The right-back, who has won 49 caps for Italy, was recently involved in their Euro 2024 qualifying match against England but has been omitted from Luciano Spalletti’s squad for upcoming international fixtures. Florenzi will have the opportunity to present his version of events to prosecutors during a meeting in Turin in the coming days.
Although the allegations against Florenzi and Zaniolo do not involve betting on football matches, they could still face serious consequences if they used illegal sites to participate in online games. The investigation is ongoing, and further developments are expected in due course.
