MILAN (REUTERS) - Fifty people have been arrested and 70 questioned in a nationwide swoop over suspected match-fixing in the third, fourth and fifth tiers of Italian football, the Ansa news agency reported on Tuesday.

Those arrested included players and directors from around 30 clubs who were under suspicion of "conspiracy to commit sporting fraud", the report said.

The operation, which according to Gazzetta dello Sport is code-named "Dirty Soccer", is being co-ordinated by prosecutors in the southern town of Catanzaro.

There was no mention of whether the allegations were connected with the Calcioscommesse match-fixing scandal which involved attempts to manipulate matches in Serie B and the third and fourth tier Lega Pro during the 2010-11 season.