Former Italian players Simone Pepe and Giuseppe Scully have each received an 18-month ban from activity and a fine of 20,000 euros for illegally exercising the profession of football agent. The decision is from the National Federal Tribunal, which imposed the same penalty on lawyer Alessandro Buccieri, a minority partner in the company “SP Management”.
According to the decision, the three have unlawfully presented themselves as licensed sports agents, negotiated financial terms and participated in the conclusion of contracts without possessing the necessary legal capacity. The case is related to an investigation by the prosecutor's office in Rome into the activities of the two former players as intermediaries in negotiating terms for young players. According to the investigation, contracts with forged signatures were deposited with the Italian Olympic Committee CONI.
Among the players involved in the case are Costantino Favasuli, who came through the Fiorentina academy, and Davide Betella, who played in the youth teams of Inter, Atalanta and Frosinone. After the two decided to end their professional relationships with the intermediaries, the suspects, according to the investigation, demanded that they be paid hundreds of thousands of euros in penalties for early termination of their contracts.
In this case, Pepe and Scully are also the subject of a criminal investigation for illegal exercise of a profession and alleged extortion. These charges are still subject to clarification within the framework of the criminal proceedings, separate from the already imposed sporting sanctions.