APPIANO GENTILE – The Inter first-team squad took part in the "Per l'integrità del gioco: formazione in campo contro le frodi sportive" [For the integrity of the game: training against sports fraud] initiative at the Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti on Tuesday, as part of the ongoing fight against match fixing. The campaign is being organised by the Lega Serie A and Sportradar AG, in collaboration with the Istituto per il Credito Sportivo.
Before proceedings got underway, a press conference was held by Inter Chief Football Administrator Giovanni Gardini, Lega Serie A director general Marco Brunelli, Sportradar AG lawyer Marcello Presilla and Istituto per il Credito Sportivo marketing coordinator Alessandro Bolis.
Giovanni Gardini said a few words first: "Today, we give the first team the chance to participate in this educational initiative – following in the footsteps of the Primavera and Allievi squads – as we aim to provide adequate training to the players on everything related to sports betting, online and otherwise.
"I believe that creating a culture of awareness around this topic is fundamental for our players, especially given that this is an area that is often underestimated. All figures working in football must be aware of the risks and potential problems associated with this type of activity. From an Inter perspective we are happy to have been one of the first clubs to start educating its own youth academy.
"Our first-team squad members are now going to be educated about the regulations and on other areas, including what to look out for on the pitch. All this is important because we have a lot of foreign players here and it needs to be explained that things work differently in Italy."
Next to speak was Lega Serie A director general Marco Brunelli: "I would like to thank Inter for their openness [to the project] and their hospitality today. Gardini has provided a very good summary of everything. It’s important to make the players reflect on the fact that often what don’t seem like serious actions carry significant risks."
Istituto per il Credito Sportivo marketing coordinator Alessandro Bovis, meanwhile, stated: "The Istituto per il Credito Sportivo finances sport and in Italy football attracts some of the biggest investments in the world of business. We stand side by side with the Lega and Sportradar as part of what is a vitally important project, not just from an ethical perspective but also from an economic standpoint, something that is very often overlooked. If football loses its credibility, is loses one of its key values, both ethically and economically."
Last but not least, Sportradar AG lawyer Marcello Presilla also spoke: "This project is valuable because it is based on dialogue with players. It’s spreading around Europe too. We think it is important to spend some time raising awareness during the season."
