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Italian Serie C football team Crotone has been placed under court-ordered management for a twelve-month period following authorities uncovered “sufficient evidence” pointing to pervasive ’Ndrangheta infiltration.

Background of the Case

The Calabrian club, located in the southern Italian region of Calabria region—known to the notorious ’Ndrangheta—currently sits in seventh place in Serie C on 5 points after four games. They previously competed in Serie A during two straight campaigns almost ten years back, most recently the 2020–2021 term.

Implications of the Decision

The recent judicial ruling means the fact that Crotone will continue its sporting activities under the oversight of court-appointed managers. Notably, FC Crotone itself is not put subject to criminal inquiry.

In a official communication, Crotone emphasized that it would “fully work alongside the court-designated supervisors in continuing their operations in the best interests for the team, fans, and football as a whole.” They further stressed how the judge’s decision “in no way suggest involvement and connivance on the part of the organization, their owners, or its managers or collaborators.”

Prosecutors’ Findings

According to the public prosecutor of Catanzaro, the football club had been “exposed, over the last ten years, explicitly or at the very least implicitly, to situations of coercion and subjugation by affiliates of local ’Ndrangheta clans.”

In particular, the local crime syndicate managed to infiltrated the team's stewarding along with ticketing divisions. The judicial management arrangement is expected to help steer Crotone’s economic dealings return onto a legal track.

Wider Context of Organized Crime in Italian Football

Criminal penetration of Italian football—covering its profitable merchandising and admission operations—is a well-known problem, amid recent investigations focusing on radical ultra supporter factions at major clubs such as Inter as well as AC Milan.