Gennaro Gattuso has dramatically declared his innocence in the match-fixing accusations by claiming ‘I’d kill myself in the town square.’
The former Milan midfielder’s house was raided in the early hours of Tuesday morning as the investigation for betting syndicates continues to scar Italian football.
“I want to clarify something: in my life I have never sat down with anyone to fix games, nor have I ever thought to, as I wouldn’t even know where to start,” he told Sport Mediaset.
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“I am prepared to go into the town square and kill myself in front of everyone if I should be found guilty of such a crime. After all, my life would be meaningless from that point on. I wouldn’t have the courage to look anyone in the eye. I say that from the heart.
“I don’t even play five-a-side football with my friends because I can’t stand losing. The phone records show Bazzani sent me 13 text messages. They will therefore also show I never replied to any of them.
“This man knows half of Serie A, he came to the Milanello gates like many hundreds of others. He was a bookmaker in Bologna, but I never talked about fixing games.
“Match-fixing is just not part of who I am. I made some bets when it was still allowed, but as soon as it was barred for professionals, I stopped. No problem.
“I am accused not of placing bets, but of fixing games and I can’t understand how they can do that. I was in Naples, so only found out about the raid from my wife this morning, after police took me in to sign some papers. I hope the magistrate calls me in soon because I want to clarify my position.
“I had also been dragged into this affair two years ago. I am convinced and fully aware of my innocence. I spent my entire career working hard. I have a foundation that allowed me to give away €1.5m to help children and then people suggest I fixed games to earn more? It just doesn’t make sense.”
Source: MTNFootball
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