Serie B Pesoli Starts Hunger Strike

Emanuele Pesoli of Serie B side Verona has gone on hunger strike in protest at his three-year match-fixing ban.

The defender has also chained himself to the gates of the Italian Football Federation's headquarters in Rome.

"I am hurt by the sentence and I would like to confront those who accuse me," said Pesoli.

The 31-year-old has been banned after a probe into illegal betting on matches while he was at Siena, a club he left in July.

Juventus manager Antonio Conte has been suspended for 10 months for not reporting match-fixing when he was in charge of Siena, then in Serie B, in the 2010-11 season.

"It is a strong protest but they are ruining my life for something I have not done," added Pesoli. "I will stay here until I can't do it anymore."

Pesoli was one of several players, coaches and officials to be banned by the federation on Friday in the latest scandal to engulf Italian football.

In May, police searched more than 30 homes, including those of players, trainers and officials of clubs in Serie A, Serie B and lower divisions.

Lazio captain Stefano Mauri, 32, was held along with former Genoa midfielder Omar Milanetto, while officers visited Italy's pre-Euro 2012 training camp to question left-back Domenico Criscito, 25.

Serie A to Face Investigation

More than 20 football teams are to be informed that they are facing investigation as an Italian inquiry into match-fixing reaches a new phase.

Minister Urges More Screening

Italy's sports minister Piero Gnudi has requested for athletes to undergo more frequent medical tests following the sudden death of Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini.

The 25-year-old, on loan from Udinese, collapsed during Saturday's Serie B match at Pescara and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.

A post-mortem examination will be conducted on Monday to ascertain whether Morosini's cause of death was cerebral or cardiac.

Gnudi said: 'It is always difficult to accept the death of a young man of only 25, especially during a context of enjoyment and sport.

'The recent repetition of dramatic incidents like this must also force us to work on doing everything possible to guarantee accurate and frequent medical tests so that we may limit in every way the chance of this happening again.'

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba has made remarkable progress since suffering a cardiac arrest during the FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham four weeks ago, but Italian volleyball player Vigor Bovolenta died during a league game last month at the age of 37 following a heart attack.

Morosini's death has shocked the nation and the Italian Football Federation have cancelled all matches this weekend.

The Italian Olympic Committee have invited other federations to request a one-minute silence to be observed in memory of Morosini prior to any games taking place on Sunday.

Damiano Tommasi, president of the Italian Players' Union, has planned a meeting in the near future to discuss testing of players for heart-related problems.

'It is a tragedy that leaves us helpless and disarmed,' Tommasi said to www.assocalciatori.it. 'An event like this is inexplicable.

'We wait to find out more from the autopsy, but now the prevailing sensation is of sadness.

'We had a meeting planned on Monday, which has been postponed, but we will now organise a get-together to discuss this tragedy and the problems tied to ensuring the safety of players.

'If in professional divisions there are certain guarantees, tens of thousands of players in the amateur Leagues have very few scans.'

Italy already have a very advanced screening programme for heart problems in athletes but some believe that even with those precautions, tragedies cannot be avoided.

'The players are monitored every four or five months,' Lazio coach Edy Reja said. 'But tragedies can happen. It's life's destiny.'

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Serie B Morosini Dies on Pitch

Ex-Italy under-21 footballer Piermario Morosini has died following a suspected heart attack on the pitch, football officials say.

The midfielder was playing for Livorno in the Serie B match at Pescara when he fell to the ground in the 31st minute.

A defibrillator was used and Morosini, 25, was taken to hospital. The game was halted with other players in tears.

All league games in Italy this weekend have been called off following Morosini's death.

Morosini had been on loan to Livorno from the Serie A club Udinese.

He collapsed face down and appeared to be in convulsion. The referee's assistant drew the referee's attention and he stopped the game.

The footballer was taken to Pescara's Santo Spirito hospital by ambulance, but he could not be revived.

Last month Bolton's Fabrice Muamba was technically "dead" for 78 minutes after collapsing in an FA Cup tie.

The 24-year-old England player is now making "strong and steady improvements".

Following Muamba's collapse, attention had been drawn to the situation for athletes in Italy, which has mandatory cardiac screening for all young people engaged in organised sport.

The charity Cardiac Risk in the Young says that the Italian measures have reduced the incidence of young sudden cardiac death in Italy by 90% in the 30 years since the screening was introduced.

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