Footballers who bet on football, especially on matches involving their own team or competition, face serious legal, sporting, and financial consequences. In fact, strict rules prohibit players from betting on football in order to preserve the integrity of the game and prevent match-fixing or any perception of unfair manipulation.
The Nicolò Fagioli case is an important example of the legal and sporting consequences that a professional footballer faces regarding accusations related to sports betting. Fagioli is an Italian midfielder currently playing for Juventus and the Italy National Team who was at the center of a sports betting scandal that ultimately lifted the lid on some very grave repercussions from such betting infractions within professional football. A detailed breakdown of the case, both from the legal and sports regulatory perspective, is discussed herein.
After the investigation, Fagioli was temporarily suspended by the FIGC from all football activities during the period the case remained open, which is a common precautionary measure in such cases. Suspension criteria by the FIGC ranged from some months up to a few years, depending on the seriousness of the infringement.
Besides the suspension, Fagioli faces fines or other monetary penalties either by the FIGC or his club Juventus. All that and the player’s commercial value, endorsements and all sponsorships, may take a hit, too, since many clubs and sponsors move away from players embroiled in gambling scandals.
In November 2023, he reached a settlement with the Italian Football Federation, accepting a seven-month suspension. A rather moderate sentence if one takes into account the seriousness of the violation.
This suspension was reduced to five months after Fagioli cooperated with the investigators and attended a rehabilitation program for gambling addiction. The factor that might have influenced the sentence in his case is that sometimes these aspects result in lighter sentences, especially when the player shows commitment to getting the problem resolved.
The Ivan Toney case is another high-profile example of a professional footballer being penalized for breaching sports betting regulations. Like Nicolò Fagioli, Toney’s situation points to how seriously players can be with when involved in gambling activities.
Toney became the subject of one of the big investigations back in 2022 when it was revealed he had placed numerous bets on football matches, including ones involving his own team, Brentford.
He was subsequently charged by the FA for a breach of the betting regulations, particularly those regarding betting under the FA rules. It was found that Toney did this through several online portals. Toney pleaded guilty to these charges. “The FA has been informed by Ivan Toney that he has breached FA Betting Rules, with the matter now referred to an independent Regulatory Commission,” confirmed the FA in a statement.
In May 2023, Ivan Toney was finally served with an eight-month ban from all football activities after going through a disciplinary hearing. The suspension came into effect immediately, thus locking out Toney from participating in any football matches and football events during its duration. Moreover, the Football Association fined him £50,000.
No criminal charges were pressed against him. This is because, per se, betting on football matches and placing bets was not illegal, but on grounds of betting rules violation for footballers, that became an internal matter of football bodies.
The legal risk of criminal prosecution would only arise if Toney had been found to be involved in match-fixing or manipulating the outcome of games, which was not the case here.
Both the Fagioli and Toney cases revolve around violations of football’s betting regulations, with serious penalties for breaching the integrity of the game. However, their cases differ in keyways:
- Fagioli’s practice of sports betting was, to some extent, justified by addiction to gambling; this fact allowed some mitigation in his sentence, which was partially meant for rehabilitation.
- The case of Toney is clearer regarding the betting on the outcomes of football matches. While his practices were considered extensive, there were no appeals to addiction.
In both cases, the FA and FIGC took no prisoners in safeguarding against betting infringements and made it clear that integrity and sportsmanship within the game are worth more than the most unfortunate of player situations.
BOCCONI STUDENTS FOR SPORT MANAGEMENT 
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