Juventus youngster Nicolo Fagioli is expected to agree a plea deal that would see him miss the remainder of the season. The 22-year-old has reportedly admitted to illegally betting on football matches, although none that he was involved in.
La Gazzetta dello Sport report that a plea negotiation is very close to the finish line. Yesterday, the talks between Nicolò Fagioli’s lawyers and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office became a meeting. It was the turning point: the ‘white smoke’ is now a foregone conclusion.
Until last night there remained some uncertainty with the circles close to the footballer who thought they could agree on around 7-8 months of disqualification. It is possible, however, that the federal prosecutor’s office is pushing for one year. There could be a meeting halfway through.
Fagioli chose to cooperate with authorities some time ago, aided and abetted by Juventus, and had already taken to recounting his compulsive gambling, debts, betting even on football, which could have resulted in a three-year disqualification, but not on his team.
All of this produced, in terms of sports justice, a sharp reduction from the initial penalty of 3 years. In fact, the Juventus player was first able to slash the penalty by half, as per the FIGC code, then ask for a further discount on account of his cooperation, that passage in paragraph 2 of Article 126 of the Code which talks about the possible halving of the disqualification, “without prejudice to the possibility of applying further decreases resulting from the application of mitigating circumstances.”
From a formal point of view, there are other steps, the one with the General Prosecutor’s Office for Sport at Coni, which will be able to make “remarks” within ten days, and the necessary green light from President Gabriele Gravina, who will “hear” the Federal Council on the matter to decide on the appropriateness of the sanction.
Fagioli is expected to miss the entirety of the current season. It is possible, then, that the player could return to the pitch early next year.
