Milan escort-ring investigation rattles Italian sport | OneFootball

An investigation into a prostitution network, with 64 Serie A players named as clients, has unsettled Italy's sporting scene.

On Monday 20 April, Milan prosecutors ordered four house arrests and seized €1.2m amassed in under two years, according to L'Équipe. The case concerns alleged facilitation and exploitation of prostitution and money laundering.

The inquiry began after a young Eastern European resident reported a clandestine nightclub in her building, also home to the Ma. De company, where parties involved escorts living on site.

She said she was repeatedly pressed to sell sex. She also relayed a Colombian woman's claim she was forced to prostitute for €1,000, half allegedly for managers Emanuele Buttini, 37, and Deborah Ronchi, 38.

Four suspects from Milan's nightlife allegedly recruited young women, including escorts, paid to attend and provide sexual services. Allegations include criminal association, exploitation of prostitution, and illicit assets abroad, notably in Lithuania.

After matches at San Siro, many players from home and visiting teams allegedly ordered packages via 26 bars and clubs. Offers costing several thousand euros included VIP tables, alcohol, nitrous oxide, hostesses and escorts.

Clients cited include footballers from AC Milan, Inter, Juventus, Torino, Sassuolo, Monza and Hellas Verona, plus hockey players and a Formula one driver.

Under Italian law, buying sex from an adult is not an offence, so no footballers are currently under investigation. They could still be called as witnesses, and some players plan complaints. Around 100 hostesses and about 10 escorts are also not being prosecuted.

Source: L'Équipe