By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – Simone Farina, the Italian footballer turned match-fixing whistle-blower, has at last found a job after being recruited as a community coach at Aston Villa.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter recently expressed his disappointment that the former Roma defender, named as a FIFA Fair Play ambassador, had not been employed since reporting that he was offered a bribe to help fix a cup match between his club Gubbio and Cesena last November.
He refused to accept and reported the incident to Italian police, leading to the arrest of 17 people.
“I know I did the right thing when I refused to get involved in the fixing of a football game,” said Farina (pictured top).
“I went to the authorities because this corruption had to be brought to the surface.
“This level of deception has no place in football or in any walk of life.
“But it is also important to me that I continue to work in football and that I am able to pass on my knowledge because football is an inspirational game.
“I wanted to move on with my life.
“Now I feel that I have real purpose again because of the support and opportunity Villa have given me.”
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