Italy rocked by match-fixing bust

Italian authorities have arrested Lazio skipper Stefano Mauri and more than a dozen others as part of a wide-ranging investigation into match-fixing.

Police swept through the Italy national team training site as part of the operation, with Juventus coach Antonio Conte also placed under investigation for alleged wrongdoing while he was coach of Siena. His Turin house was searched.

The Italian football federation revealed Mauri was one of 14 people detained and later announced Zenit defender Domenico Criscito wouldn’t be in Italy’s Euro 2012 squad after it emerged he was being questioned.

“It was a choice shared by [Azzurri boss Cesare] Prandelli and the federation, to let the player clarify his position as quickly as possible,” FIGC vice-president Demetrio Albertini said. “Criscito was sorry for the repercussions on the national team and the dressing room and he apologised to them and also reasserted his innocence.

“He explained some things to me, I believe his version and his innocence. In the morning he talked with his lawyers and then he went into the dressing room to say bye to his team-mates. “You can clearly understand the sadness in the air. His team-mates showed him they are completely with him in this terrible time.”

Conte’s lawyer Antonio De Rencis added: “Conte’s reaction is that of someone who’s completely innocent and strongly determined to prove his total innocence.”

Over 50 people have been arrested in Italy in the past year as part of the probe.