ABSTRACT
This chapter will analyse ‘Operation Dirty Soccer’ – a major ‘ndrangheta-linked Italian match-fixing investigation – by presenting for the first time a qualitative analysis of its judicial documents, which include wiretaps and the presentation of the evidence collected by antimafia prosecutors. The chapter will provide a historical framework of the investigation, its follow-up trials and preliminary results but will mainly look at what can be learned, challenged and confirmed through this operation. Operation Dirty Soccer represents an ideal case study (a) to demonstrate the local strength of mafia power in securing consensus through social practices such as soccer and (b) to consider how the strength of certain local practices can effectively migrate to national platforms if the mafia group is connected and wealthy enough – or deemed as such. This case is also particularly important in an overall discussion relating to the ‘ndrangheta as a mafia group.
