Summary: Anto is joined by Italian football commentator Owen Neilson to have a look at recent events involving the match-fixing scandal to take a deeper look beyond the provincial and sensationalized reporting into the calcioscommesse scandal that endures without much resolution. We begin with the tragic-comedic centerpiece at the moment which is Emanuele Pesoli, the former Siena defender who went on hunger strike in response to his three-year ban in the scandal, who has ended his protest after being promised a meeting with the federation president, Giancarlo Abete. Far more important, however, we dig into the bigger tentacles of the story to find a sporting justice system that needs reform while being outgunned by a global syndicate that is far better armed and financed and seems to have overrun the sport not just in Italy, but all around the world. We get into the politics, the factions, a media driven by headlines and the larger than life figures in the Italian game which come together in the form of a distracting concert filled with self-interest and filling slow news days when fuller analysis reveals a greater and more serious threats to the integrity of the game. We discuss how the matches are fixed from first hand accounts, how club supporters have mischaracterized and interpreted the events and why now - more than ever - the Italian authorities may need to reach outside of their own jurisdiction for assistance. We detail the case of Antonio Bellavista, a former Bari captain, featured in a massive documentary on this topic, opens a window to the level of sophistication brought to bear when fixing matches and how the conspiracy theories and loud figures in the Italian game have surrendered their chief obligation of solving this crisis, instead choosing to play local politics and blur the lines between human error, miscalculation and actual corruption of the sport. This is an open discussion into this threat facing not only the Italian game, but also a number of leagues that are under target including Germany, Eastern Europe, Finland and even Canada. We also cover how the sporting justice system is still fighting the old ghosts of Calciopoli and still has not learned from its previous mistakes as new strategies and resources will need to be brought to the front lines if the FIGC can ever tip the balance. Then in the second part we look at some of the early favorites in the league, some of the new arrivals to Serie A and their prospects and even pick out a couple of mid-table teams who look very entertaining on paper at present. But most of this is about calcioscommesse and how Italian culture has begun to insulate how match-fixing and reactions to it within Italy. You will learn some gears, see why the authorities are exasperated and why the leading figures in the sport within the country are not serving it well at present and how the media is feeding the furor with no end in sight. If you have yet to hear of the Singapore connection and The Kelong Kings and what games they have fixed worldside, time to get informed and put down the distractions and headlines that are out there.
