Italy: President of the Federation pays tribute to the work of judges against match-fixing

"We must be grateful for the work of justice. Investigations revealed unacceptable situations and allowed us to punish those who committed illegal acts," said Giancarlo Abete, President of the FIGC (Italian Football Federation), on the 23/12/2013.

"Despite the criticism, people still trust football, as it is proved by the increasing number of spectators in the stadiums and television ratings," said the president of the Federation during "It Processo del lunedi" ('Monday's Trial'), Rai Sport 1's TV show.

Italian police have opened an investigation on former players Gennaro Gattuso and Christian Brocchi, in the match-fixing scandal in Italian football ("Calcioscommesse", ie "football betting"), on the 17/02/2013. They are suspected of "criminal association for the purposes of sporting fraud".

Giancarlo Abete fears that these highly-publicised accusations mean that these suspected people are brought "in the meat grinder."