Why Calafiori, Leão & Coutinho were named in Serie A escort probe without confirmed involvement | OneFootball

A host of current and former Serie A players have been named in a Milan escort investigation. None of those mentioned are under investigation and paying for sex is not a criminal offence in Italy.

They could, however, be called as witnesses at upcoming hearings. The case centres on an alleged network run by Emanuele Buttini and Deborah Ronchi, Il Giornale reports.

Names surfaced via wiretap intercepts as escorts and associates arranged meetings. Court filings redacted most identities, but an administrative error left some visible, including Torino’s Marcus Pedersen and Sassuolo’s Christian Volpato.

Formally named in the prosecutor’s request to the investigating judge are Verona’s Cheickh Niasse and former Inter and Lazio player Dejan Stankovic, along with his son Filip.

A wider list of more than 50 footballers came from search keywords in a warrant executed last Monday to guide analysis of seized devices. The filing indicates names were drawn from intercepted communications, not inserted arbitrarily.

Among the keywords were Alessandro Bastoni, Raoul Bellanova, Yann Bisseck, Achraf Hakimi, Philippe Coutinho, Milan Skriniar, Carlos Augusto, Koni De Winter, Rafael Leao, Olivier Giroud and Jeremy Menez.

Also listed were Riccardo Calafiori, Dean Huijsen, Dusan Vlahovic, Arthur Melo, Gianluca Scamacca, Matteo Ruggeri, Daniel Maldini and Nuno Tavares.

It remains impossible to determine whether any of those named interacted with the alleged network. Appearance in search terms alone does not constitute wrongdoing or confirmed involvement.

Source: Football Italia