Five people ended up under house arrest as part of the “Penalty” investigation, coordinated by the Reggio Calabria Prosecutor’s Office and conducted by the Carabinieri and the Financial Police. The investigation revealed a system of sports fraud in the lower leagues of football, led by referee Luigi Catanoso, accused of fixing matches to encourage controlled betting.
Referee Catanoso’s modus operandi
Catanoso, even after the suspension, would have involved other referees by offering up to 10 thousand euros per match to direct the results towards pre-established predictions. The modus operandi was simple: influence the score with non-existent penalties, unjustified expulsions or by favoring the most profitable team for betting, so as to guarantee the occurrence of outcomes such as the “over” on the number of goals.