The Bari prosecutor’s office has also decided to investigate the case of bets placed on Nicola Bellomo’s expulsion. The case emerged last May 23, when the Bari footballer was sanctioned during the second leg of the Ternana-Bari Serie B playout. Bellomo was on the bench when in the 78th minute he inexplicably started arguing with a ball boy. A scene still today without a clear explanation, given that the red and whites were leading 3-0 at that moment and were now one step away from safety. The investigators’ suspicions arose from the anomalous number of bets placed on the red card of Bellomo, originally from Bari Vecchia. Several bets had been made in betting shops in Bari. The red for Bellomo was quoted at 24 times the stake and was never paid by the betting platforms, given that the player was sent off without having entered the field. However, the investigators would also be investigating the possible bets made on the illegal sites, which instead could have repaid those bets with a very generous share. In the days following the explosion of the case, photos of various bet slips with the episode that came under investigation had also circulated on social media. An investigation by the FIGC prosecutor’s office led by Giuseppe Chiné had already been opened into Bellomo’s case. Neither Bellomo nor the red and white club led by Luigi De Laurentiis are under investigation. The investigation by the Bari prosecutor’s office carried out by the Financial Police is proceeding against unknown persons.
