By Chris Wright
Verona defender Emanuele Pesoli has gone on hunger strike over the three-year ban handed to him as part of the Italian Football Federation’s (FIGC) investigation into the Scomessopoli match-fixing scandal.
The 31-year old has also chained himself to the front gate of the FIGC headquarters in Rome in protest, telling the Italian press:
“I am hurt by the sentence and I would like to confront those who accuse me. Yes, it is a strong protest but they are ruining my life for something I have not done. I will stay here until I can’t do it anymore.
“I’m dancing away my hunger pains, moving my feet so my stomach don’t hurt. I’m kind of like Jesus, but not in a sacrilegious way.”
The charges relate to the illegal betting that went on at Siena during 2010/11, the very same illegal betting that saw Juventus coach Antonio Conte (then of Siena) banned for 10 months earlier in the week for letting it happen on his watch.