BARI, Italy — Twenty-seven people, all but three of them footballers, were indicted Saturday on charges of committing sports fraud for fixing four matches involving the southern club Bari, Italian media reported.
Among those called to trial were current Bari captain Francesco Caputo, former Bari captain and current Torino goalkeeper Jean Francois Gillet and former Juventus assistant coach and Bari player Cristian Stellini, the ANSA news agency reported.
Three other players — Andrea Masiello, Marco Esposito and Marco Rossi — reportedly sought plea bargains.
The matches in question were two Serie A matches from 2010-11 and two Serie B matches in May 2008 and May ’09.
Prosecutors said the Serie A matches were fixed with a total of (euro)140,000 ($180,000) given to players and the Serie B matches were fixed with (euro)220,000 ($285,000).
The Serie A matches were Bari-Sampdoria (0-1) in April 2011 and Palermo-Bari (2-1) in May 2011.
The Serie B matches were Bari-Treviso (0-1) in May, 2008 and Salernitana-Bari (3-2) in May, 2009.
At least 50 people have been arrested in Italy for match-fixing since the middle of 2011, with scores more under investigation by prosecutors in Cremona, Bari and Napoli.
The Bari prosecutors have based a large part of their inquiries on the confessions of former Bari defenders Masiello and Vittorio Micolucci. Masiello was arrested last year, while Micolucci was involved in the Cremona inquiry and banned by sports authorities.