Former Serie A wingers Simone Pepe and Giuseppe Sculli have been handed 18-month sporting bans and 20,000 euro fines by the Italian Football Federation’s National Federal Tribunal, Sportmediaset reported. The sanctions stem from unauthorized sports agency activities, with both former players now facing separate criminal investigations by the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Tribunal Rulings and Sanctions on SP Management Srl Associates

The Italian Football Federation confirmed that the National Federal Tribunal penalized both Pepe and Sculli for acting as sports agents without holding the required professional licenses. Alongside the two former players, lawyer Alessandro Buccieri—a minority shareholder in the agency SP Management Srl—received an identical 18-month suspension and a 20,000 euro fine, as detailed by La Gazzetta dello Sport. The tribunal found that the unregistered parties engaged in negotiating financial agreements and participating in contract signings without authorization.

Rome Prosector Inquiry Into Alleged Contract Forgeries and Extortion

The sporting tribunal’s judgment mirrors an ongoing criminal inquiry led by the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, investigators allege that Pepe and Sculli operated illegal agency practices for rising football talents, including depositing contracts with the Italian National Olympic Committee bearing forged signatures. The probe intensified when young players Costantino Favasuli—developed in Fiorentina’s youth sector—and Davide Bettella—a former defender in the youth ranks of Inter, Atalanta, and Frosinone—sought to terminate their professional ties with the agency. Prosecutors state that the suspects attempted to extract penalty payments worth hundreds of thousands of euros for early contract cancellations, triggering criminal allegations of unauthorized professional practice and extortion.