Football clubs with opaque ownership structures were more than three times as likely to receive sporting penalties and over nine times as likely to be linked to criminal investigations or charges, according to a study of Italian clubs by researchers at Leeds Beckett University and Università Cattolica’s Transcrime centre. The findings were published in the Journal of Economic Criminology.
The research examined ownership at more than 250 clubs across Italy’s Serie A, B, C and D, looking at links between corporate transparency, financial irregularities and legal proceedings. Researchers tracked 265 clubs from the 2022–23 season and reviewed disciplinary and legal developments over the following three years.
Among clubs with opaque ownership, 29.4% received sporting penalties, compared with 9.7% of clubs with transparent structures. Exclusions from competitions affected 29.4% of the opaque-ownership group and 12.1% of the transparent group. Criminal investigations or charges involving senior figures were recorded in 52.9% of cases in the first group, compared with 5.6% in the second.
For the 2025–26 season, the researchers identified 27 entities at the top of ownership chains that made it impossible to trace the ultimate individual holders of economic interests. Their structures extended across 62 jurisdictions, including 26 of the 30 jurisdictions classified as having the highest financial secrecy by the Tax Justice Network. Twenty of these entities directly or indirectly controlled Italian football clubs. The phenomenon also affects lower divisions, with a significant presence of US investors, the study said.
The researchers cautioned that opaque ownership is not itself illegal. Transcrime director Michele Riccardi said the study points to a close relationship between opacity, administrative misconduct and criminal risks. He added that financially struggling clubs may attract opaque investment, while capital of unknown origin could contribute to financial irregularities and instability.
Sources: ANSA Economia.