Lawyers for Italy and Aston Villa forward Nicolò Zaniolo insist he ‘never placed bets’ on football, but only played poker and blackjack online, so if confirmed would not face a ban.
While Juventus midfielder Nicolò Fagioli and reportedly also Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali have confessed to letting gambling get out of hand and betting on football matches, Zaniolo has a different approach to being placed under investigation in the betting scandal.
“Nicolò never placed a bet, he assured me of this,” lawyer Gianluca Tognozzi told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It is possible he played card games like poker and blackjack on illegal online platforms, but without knowing that they were illegal.
“We will clarify everything.”
Professional football players are technically banned from any form of gambling, but if Zaniolo has not been betting on football or any other sport, then his position is going to be very different from a legal and sporting justice system standpoint.
“He risks a few hundred Euros of fines, unless of course he did it so often as to warrant further punishment, but even then it would be minimal.”
It is certainly a different version to the stories that emerged over the last few days, which suggested Zaniolo faced tougher sanctions than his fellow players because he had a role in spreading and organising the illegal betting ring by getting teammates involved.
Gossip columnist Fabrizio Corona also alleged that Zaniolo’s mother had a role in the gambling.