Aston Villa director of football Monchi has spoken to Nicolo Zaniolo regarding the betting scandal which has seen him leave the Italy set up this week.
That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who cover the player today amid the ongoing scandal involving Zaniolo, Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Fagioli.
Zaniolo left the Italy set up at the Coverciano technical centre this week after a police raid that saw his phones, tablets and other electronic devices taken away as part of an investigation into illegal online betting.
The Aston Villa midfielder is facing a potential three-year ban if he is found guilty, although he insists that he has done nothing more than bet on poker and blackjack.
The newspaper explains that he returned to Birmingham yesterday after meetings with his agents and lawyers in which he insisted he had done nothing wrong.
“Nothing more, and I’m terribly sorry because, between Aston Villa and the national team, things were finally going well at this moment.”
He has also spoken to the club, specifically director of football Monchi, who provided a calm response and insisted if the player was telling the truth, there was nothing to be concerned about.
Gazzetta say he has told the player to “think about training well because we have to win the next match” and nothing more despite the developing situation and investigation.
Thus, Zaniolo left for Birmingham yesterday to return to training under Unai Emery but will be back in Italy at the beginning of next week to speak to the Turin’s prosecutor’s office to give further statements along side his lawyer Antonio Conte.
The response from him, and Aston Villa, seems to be a calm one for now, waiting to see how the situation develops.
