1980 Totonero

{{Short description|Scandal of football match fixing in Italy in 1980}} {{about|the 1980 scandal|the 1986 scandal|1986 Totonero}} '''Totonero 1980''' or '''Totonero''' was a match-fixing scandal in Italy in 1980 in Serie A and Serie B. The participants in this scandal were Avellino, Bologna, Lazio, Milan, and Perugia of Serie A and Palermo and Taranto of Serie B, as well as several players from these and other teams in Italy, all of whom were declared guilty after the trials.<ref name="Sportmediaset 2020">{{Cite web|title=Quando il pallone si sgonfiò: 40 anni fa lo scandalo-Totonero che travolse la Serie A|url=https://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/calcio/quando-il-pallone-si-sgonfi-40-anni-fa-lo-scandalo-totonero-che-travolse-la-serie-a_16452898-202002a.shtml|language=it|website=Sportmediaset|date=23 March 2020|access-date=18 December 2022}}</ref> Notably, Paolo Rossi was suspended for three years (reduced to two on appeal),<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/5172576.stm|title = The worst scandal of them all|date = 14 July 2006|publisher=BBC|access-date=18 December 2022}}</ref> and upon his return helped Italy in their successful 1982 FIFA World Cup campaign.<ref name="Rossi">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/history/newsid_1741000/1741159.stm|title = Rossi sinks the Brazilians|date = 10 April 2002|publisher=BBC|access-date=18 December 2022}}</ref>

== Background == In 1946, Italy introduced a state-run pool for citizens to bet on football, called the ''Totocalcio''. It was the only form of legalized football betting in the country until the late 1990s. For fans to win, they needed to correctly pick the outcome of 13 games, making it virtually impossible for the pool to be fixed since so many matches were involved.<ref name="US Soccer Players">{{Cite web|title=Italian soccer scandal of 1980|url=https://ussoccerplayers.com/history/the-world/italian-scandal-of-1980|access-date=2021-12-20|website=US Soccer Players|language=en-US}}</ref> Because of this, the only way to bet on a single match or the winners of events like the Coppa Italia or Serie A was to bet with illegal bookmakers.<ref name="US Soccer Players"/>

The plan was created in 1979 by Alvaro Trinca, owner of a restaurant in Rome, and his supplier Massimo Cruciani. The restaurant was a popular spot for many Lazio players, a few of whom agreed to fix matches in exchange for a cut of the money.<ref name="Sportmediaset 2020"/> The first match arranged to be fixed was a friendly between Lazio and Palermo on 1 November 1979, which ended in a draw as planned. However, many of the games did not end as planned, and Trinca and Cruciani had reportedly lost over 100 million lire by February 1980 (worth around US$117,000 in 1980 dollars, and over US$400,000 in 2022).<ref name="Sportmediaset 2020"/><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-12-10|title=Inflation Calculator {{!}} Find US Dollar's Value from 1913-2021|url=https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/|access-date=2021-12-20|website=www.usinflationcalculator.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

On 1 March 1980, Trinca and Cruciani filed a report with Rome's Public Prosecutor with the names of 27 players and 13 clubs across Serie A and Serie B.<ref name="Sportmediaset 2020"/> Trinca was arrested eight days later and Cruciani three days after that. On 23 March, the Guardia di Finanza arrested 13 players and Milan president Felice Colombo immediately after the final whistle of that day's matches. All of those arrested were acquitted of criminal charges because there was no law against match fixing in Italy at the time.<ref name="Sportmediaset 2020"/>

== Punishments == === Club punishments === * Milan (Serie A); relegated to Serie B.<ref name="BBC 2006">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4985738.stm Italian FA under emergency rule], BBC Sport, 16 May 2006.</ref> * Lazio (Serie A); relegated to Serie B (10 million lire fine in original punishment).<ref name="BBC 2006" /> * Avellino (Serie A); 5 point penalty in Serie A 1980–81. * Bologna (Serie A); 5 point penalty in Serie A 1980–81. * Perugia (Serie A); 5 point penalty in Serie A 1980–81. * Palermo (Serie B); 5 point penalty in Serie B 1980–81 (acquitted in original verdict). * Taranto (Serie B); 5 point penalty in Serie B 1980–81 (acquitted in original verdict).

=== Individual punishments ===

==== Presidents ==== * Felice Colombo (Milan); disbar. * Tommaso Fabretti (Bologna); 1 year suspension.

==== Players ==== * Stefano Pellegrini (Avellino); 6 year suspension. * {{ill|Massimo Cacciatori|it}} (Lazio); 5 year suspension (disbar in original punishment). * Enrico Albertosi (Milan); 4 year suspension (disbar in original punishment). * Bruno Giordano (Lazio); 3 year and 6 month suspension (1 year and 6 months in original punishment). * Lionello Manfredonia (Lazio); 3 year and 6 month suspension (1 year and 6 months in original punishment). * Carlo Petrini (Bologna); 3 year and 6 month suspension. * Guido Magherini (Palermo); 3 year and 6 month suspension (1 year and 6 months in original punishment). * Giuseppe Savoldi (Bologna); 3 year and 6 month suspension. * {{ill|Lionello Massimelli|it}} (Taranto); 3 year suspension (1 year in original punishment). * Luciano Zecchini (Perugia); 3 year suspension. * Giuseppe Wilson (Lazio); 3 year suspension (disbar in original punishment). * Paolo Rossi (Perugia); 2 years suspension (3 years in original punishment).<ref name="Rossi" /> * Franco Cordova (Avellino); 1 year and 2 month suspension. * Carlo Merlo (Lecce); 1 year suspension (1 year and 6 months in original punishment). * Giorgio Morini (Milan); 1 year suspension. * Stefano Chiodi (Milan); 6 month suspension. * Piergiorgio Negrisolo (Pescara); 5 month suspension (1 year in original punishment). * Maurizio Montesi (Lazio); 4 month suspension. * Franco Colomba (Bologna); 3 month suspension. * Oscar Damiani (Napoli); 3 month suspension (4 months in original punishment).

== Aftermath == * Perugia and Taranto were both relegated from their respective leagues following the 1980–81 season. Perugia would have been relegated even without the point deduction, but Taranto would have been safe had they not been given the five point penalty. * All of the players whose bans were still active when Italy won the 1982 World Cup were reinstated soon after.

== References == {{reflist}}

Category:1979–80 in Italian football Category:Match fixing in association football Category:History of football in Italy Category:Sports betting scandals Category:Sports scandals in Italy