Football bets, list of footballers on WhatsApp: what risks those who share it

In the last few hours, the Whatsapp chats of football (and non-) football fans have focused on just one thing: the list – presumed – of footballers involved in football betting.
It all stems from Fabrizio Corona's statements regarding the involvement of many well-known footballers in sports betting, even though the prosecutor's office opened an investigation only for Fagioli, Tonali and Zaniolo.
The sporting investigations are therefore still ongoing and it does not seem, at least for now, that all the names mentioned by Fabrizio Corona are being paid attention to.
The news creates a scandal, especially because if the accusations were confirmed the players would receive significant sporting penalties, given that the Code of Sports Justice prohibits betting in the field in which one is engaged.
There is also hypothesis of involvement in illegal betting, i.e.
not authorized by the State.
Thus, we don't talk about anything else and details from the most disparate sources continue to be added to the original story.
In a short time, a real list was formed with the names of famous Italian footballers accused of participating in Calcioscommesse, often even speciously.
It is therefore right to ask what risks those who share it, given that its value is anything but flattering.
List of players involved in Calciobetting, what's true? As already mentioned, the list that many have already been able to appreciate on Whatsapp or other social networks is devoid of any foundation.
The only factual information available to date is that the Turin prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into Nicolò Zaniolo, Nicolò Fagioli and Sandro Tonali.
None of the other public figures cited by Corona are officially under investigation, much less the footballers included in the now famous list.
Again according to official sources, for the moment there does not appear to be any accusation of match-fixing, as some posts on social media suggest.
None of the players, in fact, are accused of having voluntarily manipulated the results of the game, but "only" of having participated in sports betting (against sports justice) and of having taken part in abusive games of chance (as regards criminal matters ).
The list of players that is becoming popular on Whatsapp chats is therefore devoid of any basis or evidence of any kind, even if many are sharing it with friends and colleagues.
The classic spirit of curiosity and gossip, which however should not lead to sharing information of this type so lightly.
read also What risks those who bet on illegal sites? What risks those who share the list of footballers on Whatsapp The fact that the list of footballers is unfounded is not particularly relevant as regards the responsibility of the users who share it, also because many look at it with a questioning spirit.
The mere fact that it contains offensive content, however, could constitute the crime of defamation.
In fact, it is remembered that defamation occurs regardless of the truthfulness of the accusations, but for the simple reason that they contain offenses to the reputation.
Even a simple click on "forward" can constitute this crime, obviously unless it is sent to the same interested party.
The fact that everything happens via social networks, moreover, even risks being an aggravating factor because the offense is carried out through "a means of advertising".
This aggravating circumstance is difficult to oppose to those who have sent the list to a single friend on the private chat, but it fits perfectly in the case of those who share it on their status.
read also Who are the footballers involved in football betting confirmed by Fagioli's chats? Not only that, even the attribution of a specific fact constitutes an aggravating circumstance of the crime of defamation, just as is happening with the footballers mentioned by the Whatsapp chain, who are being contested crimes (sporting and otherwise) that are clearly identifiable and undeniably prejudicial to their reputation.
Thus, you risk imprisonment of up to 2 years and a fine of up to 2,065 euros, if a complaint is filed.
Defamation is punishable only upon complaint by the offended person, so for obvious reasons it is difficult to imagine complaints for every Whatsapp user, but this does not mean that the action does not constitute a crime.
We must therefore be very careful, especially if clubs, teams or unverified statements by public figures and newspapers are mentioned in addition to individual players.
read also Defamation on social media, what are the risks in case of offensive comments and insults?