Signori denies role in match-fixing scandal

Former Italy striker Giuseppe Signori denied any involvememt in the latest match-fixing scandal to hit Italian football when he was interrogated by a judge on Wednesday.

The 43-year-old, who was one of Italy’s top strikers in the 1990s and was top scorer in Serie A three times with Lazio, told the judge that he had not been involved in any skulduggery surrounding the Serie A match between Inter and Lecce according to his lawyer.

Signori, the eighth highest scorer of all-time in Serie A with 188 goals, was among 16 people arrested for match-fixing in a co-ordinated sting by Italian police last week.

Among those targeted were former Serie A players and current players from both Serie B and Lega Pro as well as club directors from the lower leagues, all suspected of being part of an organisation that rigged games to fix bets.

Eighteen matches are under investigation including the Inter and Lecce clash.

Matches involving Siena and Atalanta, who both earned promotion to Serie A, are also under the microscope.

It is only five years since several clubs were punished for their part in the infamous Calciopoli match-fixing scandal in which teams asked for specific referees, known to be friendly towards them, for their matches.

Juventus were relegated and stripped of two titles while Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and Reggina were all hit with point deductions.