Blatter invites Farina to Ballon d'Or

By Football Italia staff

Betting scandal whistle-blower Simone Farina has been invited to the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony as a reward for his honesty.

The Gubbio player went to the authorities when he was approached to help fix a Serie B result and sparked the latest slew of arrests in this case.

Invited to the next Italy training camp by Cesare Prandelli, Farina has also now received a ticket to the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony in Zurich on Monday night.

The invitation came directly from FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who wished to reward his honesty.

“Farina has accepted Blatter’s invite and will be in Zurich,” said Gubbio director of sport Stefano Giammarioli.

Napoli Coach Walter Mazzarri dubbed it “a nice gesture. We must create a mentality, which for the most part already exists, of doing things by the book and not getting caught up in temptation. In football, as in society, one has to work with fairness.”

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