A court in Naples has sentenced Italian international Monza defender Armando Izzo to five years in prison for his participation in fixing the outcome of a football match.
His lawyers said Ezzo, who has three caps, would appeal.
Ezzo, along with two other players, was accused of helping to fix the outcome of the Serie B match between his then club Avellino and Modena during the 2013-14 season, according to Italian news agencies.
A court in Naples found the 31-year-old guilty of collusion with the Camorra, the city’s mafia organisation, but also of sports fraud for agreeing to influence the outcome of a match for money.
His relative, Humberto Accorzo, suspected of belonging to the Camorra, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, as was another suspected member of the same group.
And the Monza club, owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, for its part, considered its player innocent, and wrote in a statement: “Monza expresses its full support for Armando, convinced that he is not involved in criminal activities.”
In its first season in Serie A, Monza secured its survival by finishing 10th with five stages to go. Ezzo played 26 league matches this season.
Banned in April 2017 for 18 months and fined €50,000 for failure to report match-fixing while playing for Avellino.
