Aston Villa forward and Italy international Nicolo Zaniolo has given an in-depth interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport published on Thursday morning, clarifying his involvement, or rather lack of involvement, in the betting scandal that swept Italian football back in October.
Zaniolo did not deny using an illegal platform to play casino games, but maintains that he has never placed a bet on football.
Zaniolo met with prosecutors in Italy at the end of October to share his side of the story, and as of yet, has not faced any form of suspension. He has made a significant charitable donation to the Gaslini Institute, the largest pediatric hospital in Northern Italy.
Asked how we is doing now a few months have passed, Zaniolo replied: “Better of course, but I had already started to feel this way after the meeting with the prosecutors, when the truth of what I said was uncovered.
“It’s true, but I decided to make a donation to the Gaslini hospital. I’m from La Spezia and I know the facility well. If I had had more bad luck, one of those children could have been me.
“Even though everything went well, it wasn’t a good thing, but I can’t say anything about the investigations. The important thing is that it’s over now, but it’s not good to be dragged into the middle of a story like this without having done anything serious.
Zaniolo described the arrival of the Police at Italy’s training centre in October as: “a nightmare.”
When asked if he ever had any major fears when questioned by authorities, he responded: “No, I knew what I had done, or rather, I knew what I hadn’t done.
“To be clear: I’ve played on casino stuff, but I’ve never bet. That said, I still made a mistake, I can’t deny it, but I didn’t know it was an illegal platform.
Zaniolo also hinted that professional footballers are suspect to approaches from dodgy characters due to their fame.
“Do you think we don’t know that people approach us only do it because we are famous? It’s not just that. If we go to a restaurant or a club, all eyes are on us. There are people who take videos of us with their phones. So, if we do or say something stupid, the whole world knows within a few seconds.
“As a result, we don’t go out. We stay at home with our phones or tablets and pass the time until we play the next game. That’s it. It’s not very appealing but it’s the truth.
“Maybe it’s easier here in England, but I assure you that in Italy, sometimes, if you’re famous, it’s difficult to leave the house. But I’m more fortunate than others.
“We are lucky, but we have also deserved our success. Look, not everyone gets to play in Serie A. Our careers are short and an injury can compromise everything,. It’s happened so many times.”