Catania demoted to Lega Pro for involvement in match-fixing scandal
The gavel has come down on Calcio Catania.
The club's been demoted to the Lega Pro, the third tier of Italian football, for its involvement in a match-fixing scandal during the last Serie B season, the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) announced Thursday.
Catania will also be forced to start the season with a 12-point deduction and pay a fine of €150,000.
Antonino Pulvirenti, Catania's president, admitted at the end of June to buying the results of five Serie B games in an attempt to "save the club." According to Reuters, the fixtures in question include a run of five consecutive wins from March and April against Avellino, Varese, Trapani, Latina, and Ternana, as well as a draw against Livorno during that period.
Pulvirenti was one of seven people arrested in connection with the scandal after evidence from wiretaps suggested that several Serie B games had been fixed. State prosecutor Giovanni Salvi said: "Antonino Pulvirenti has confirmed that he bought (the results of) matches from the Varese-Catania game onwards, and that he paid €100,000 for each one."
The FIGC levied sanctions against a host of clubs on Thursday:
- Savona and Teramo have been relegated to Serie D for the 2015-16 season and both clubs will have to pay a €30,000 fine.
- Citta di Brindisi has been relegated to a lower league.
- Vigor Lamezia will start the 2015-16 season with a five-point deduction and have been fined €25,000.
- Barletta will start the 2015-16 season with a three-point deduction, Neapolis, Sef Torres, and San Severo with a two-point deduction, and L'Aquila, Luparense San Paolo, and Puteolana Internapoli with a one-point deduction. L'Aquila will have to pay a €25,000 fine as well.
- Akragas has been fined €25,000, while Paganese has been acquitted.