[] [BTBBT Daily - 12/20]Former Atalanta captain Doni, 16 held

--> FORMER Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni and 16 other people have been arrested across Italy in an ongoing investigation into match-fixing and illegal betting on games.

The inquiry is focused on several matches in Serie B over the past two seasons - with three of the matches including Atalanta.

Three Serie A matches from last season are also under investigation: Brescia vs Bari, Brescia vs Lecce and Napoli vs Sampdoria.

"This is not the end but just a starting point," Cremona prosecutor Roberto Di Martino said.

"Let's hope it's a starting point in cleaning up the beautiful game that is football. One of the suspects has admitted that these operations have been going on for over 10 years.

"At the top of the organization are men from Singapore who are those who move the money, but the shareholders are divided from the West, to the Far East, to South America and they manage with their men how to change the outcome of football matches," Di Martino said.

Others arrested include former Inter Milan and Roma player Luigi Sartor, former Serie B player Alessandro Zamperini and active players Carlo Gervasoni of Piacenza and Filippo Carobbio of Spezia.

Charges include criminal association and sporting fraud, while Doni has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to destroy evidence.

As recently as last month a Gubbio player was approached and offered 200,000 euros to influence the outcome of a cup match between Cesena and Gubbio on November 30. The player refused and reported the incident to the police.

In June, 16 people were arrested as part of the inquiry, which is being led by prosecutors in Cremona, and Doni was then placed under investigation.

In August, Doni was banned for three and a half years by the Italian football federation's disciplinary committee and Atalanta, which was promoted to Serie A for this season, was given a six-point penalty.

On the pitch, unbeaten Juventus broke clear at the top of the Italian league with a 2-0 victory over struggling Novara while Udinese was held to a 2-2 draw at Lazio.

Simone Pepe gave Juventus the perfect start when he scored in the fourth minute but the result flattered Juventus with veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon pulling off a string of impressive saves. Fabio Quagliarella secured the win 15 minutes from time.

Juventus is two points clear of AC Milan and Udinese.

Inter Milan's revival gathered pace as Andrea Ranocchia helped it win 1-0 at struggling Cesena. Inter's fifth win in six games moves it up to fifth spot - 10 points behind Juventus.