2006 Cup winner for Italy denies any family connection to the Mafia
Vincenzo Iaquinta, world champion with Italy in2006 and former Juventus player, denied in an interview to Gazzetta dello Sport any family connection with the 'Ndrangheta.[citation needed] His father Giuseppe has been imprisoned since2018 in Operation Aemilia, and the ex-player promises to fight to prove his innocence.
The backdrop
Vincenzo Iaquinta, forward world champion with Italy in 2006 and ex-Juventus, has been living for a decade a problem that does not leave the scene: the association of his name and his family to 'Ndrangheta, one of the largest criminal organizations in Italy.
Giuseppe Iaquinta, the former athlete's father, has been imprisoned since , accused of having a central role in the Italian mafia.
The interview and the former player's reaction
In an interview with Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Iaquinta rejected any connection of the family to organized crime and lamented what he called a stain on the family's name.
"It's really sad. I played at the highest level for 15 years, scored a hat-trick in the Champions League and won a World Cup... And yet my name is associated with 'Ndrangheta because of a vile accusation", said the former player.
About his father, the tone was one of concern and revolt: "They'll end up killing him right there in prison. They threw a lot of mud on us. Once you sink into quicksand, it's hard to get out. I have faith in justice, but it is difficult like this. I will fight to prove his innocence. It is my life battle. We have nothing to do with the mafia; we are repulsed by them".
The suspended sentence
Iaquinta's name also appears in another chapter of the investigation.He was given a suspended sentence on charges of allegedly aiding the criminal organization with two pistols and 126 bullets.According to the former player, the weapons were legally registered and stored by him but they were found at his father's house.
"It was naive of me, but that doesn't make me a criminal. The guns were properly registered; my father took them without informing me. I was charged under Article 7: allegedly helping the clans with legally registered weapons. It was crazy and these things ruin your life. I have been living an apparently endless nightmare for ten years", he added.
Where the story is now
Vincenzo Iaquinta says that he will use all the means at his disposal to prove his father's innocence and his own, keeping faith in Italian justice despite the wear of ten years of investigations.
== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man
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