The president of Italian second division club Catania, Antonino Pulvirenti, has announced his intention to sell the club after receiving death threats, which he said led to him buying matches last season.
Pulvirenti is still waiting to hear if he will be prosecuted after admitting to buying results for his club when they were at risk of a second straight relegation. He spent time in custody before being released on home arrest once he confessed to investigators.
The 53-year-old is hoping some lenience will be shown after claiming he was left with little choice but to pay for matches to end in his club's favour.
"I was receiving serious death threats and I was no longer serene and I made a mistake," he said at a news conference. "I should have been stronger, but I wasn't.
"I tried to change Catania's results twice, but on two other occasions I was swindled and we didn't get the results we had paid for.
"Two of the games, the ones with Varese and Trapani, were bought, but the players were not aware. I want to apologise to many people, but I would first like to wait until the end of the trial. If I am found guilty, then afterwards I will make my apologies to many people."
Pulvirenti is now set to leave football and he wants the sale of the Sicilian club to be seen by everybody.
"The club is for sale," he said. "On Thursday, at 10 a.m. at Torre del Grifo, I am meeting with a group of businessmen and this meeting is going to be streamed live on the internet.
"It's in the public interest and is important for the whole city, so it is only fair that they can be a part of these negotiations."
