FIFA bans 26 players worldwide over Italian match-fixing row

Twenty-six players and one official have had their Italian match-fixing bans extended worldwide, soccer's governing body FIFA said on Tuesday.

FIFA said that 23 of the players were Italian along with one from Belgium, Belarus and Croatia. The suspensions, ranging from two months to four years, stem from two separate investigations, one in Bari and one in Cremona.

The first case centered on two matches involving Bari in Serie B, against Treviso in 2007-08 and against Salernitana in 2008-09.

The Cremona-based sanctions involved two matches played by Lazio at the end of the 2010-11 season in Serie A. 

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