The Catania president Antonino Pulvirenti has vehemently denied that he has been involved in match-fixing during his tenure with the Elefanti.
The businessman is amongst a group of seven arrested by a special operations branch of the state police for rigging at least five Catania matches by using a code speaking about trains to discuss which players were willing to fix fixtures.
“I am unrelated to these accusations and I am certain that I can demonstrate my complete lack of involvement with these events,” said Pulvirenti via his lawyer Giovanni Grasso due to his current position in captivity.
“We have the greatest possible faith in the Catania magistracy, the president [Pulvirenti] is certain that he can demonstrate his complete innocence and he intends to make immediate decisions regarding his role at Catania so that he may defend himself with peace of mind and to protect the interests of the club,” added Grasso.
The allegations against Catania state that the club bought games to avoid relegation from Serie B and the Sicilian club was also under investigation in May as part of the ‘Dirty Soccer’ affair.
