Scinto and Citracca banned for five years in Vini Zabù 'pay to ride' case
Angelo Citracca and Luca Scinto have been banned from working in cycling for five years by the Italian cycling federation following an investigation into the ‘pay to ride’ scheme in operation at the defunct Vini Zabù team.
The FCI this week announced a five-year ban and fines of €5,000 each for Citracca and Scinto after finding them in breach of the federation’s ethical code, which covers “respect for the laws of the state, loyalty, integrity, honesty, moral rigour.”
The sporting sanction follows a long-running police investigation into the Vini Zabù team, which disbanded at the end of 2021. At a preliminary hearing in Pistoia last November, it was ruled that Citracca and Scinto would stand trial for extortion, with the trial set for summer 2026.
The investigation into Vini Zabù began in 2021 after Matteo De Bonis tested positive for EPO, which triggered a 30-day suspension as it was the team’s second doping case within a twelve-month period.
Vini Zabù handed back its invitation to the Giro d’Italia, and it subsequently launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance unspecified new anti-doping protocols for the team. The drive raised a total of €339.
The squad disbanded at the end of that season after 13 years in the professional peloton. It had previously been known as Vini Fantini, Neri Sottoli and Wilier Triestina, and the squad raced the Giro d’Italia ten times during its existence.
The investigation by Italy’s NAS police unit initially focused on doping offences, but the scope of inquiry was widened to include extortion when riders alleged that they had been forced to return some of their wages to management in order to race for the team.
Citracca had already served a three-month ban in 2017 when the FCI found him guilty of charging riders to race for his team. He denied any wrongdoing.
The issue of ‘pay to ride’ schemes in Italian cycling had been exposed in a series of articles in Il Corriere della Sera by journalist Marco Bonarrigo, with Elia Viviani among those to give evidence against the practice.
This more recent investigation into Vini Zabù has seen Citracca and Scinto indicted on charges of extortion, together with Matteo De Bonis’ former sports director Davide Del Sarto.
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