Caught up in the betting scandal in Italy, Aston Villa’s Nicolò Zaniolo appears to have escaped the worst punishment of a football ban, and will likely have to simply pay a fine.
The 24-year-old has continued to play for Unai Emery in the meantime, starting the last three Premier League games before being substituted at half-time in the last two, but there is one matter he is still waiting for.
That, according to Corriere dello Sport, is whether he will be chosen by Luciano Spalletti for his next Italy squad, with the former Napoli manager expected to announce his chosen players for the upcoming international break on Friday.
It’s explained that Spalletti and Gabriele Gravina, the president of the Italian Football Federation, must ‘establish a political (non-sporting) line relating to’ the Aston Villa player.
That’s because Zaniolo can still be called up, since ‘the documents have not yet been sent to the federal prosecutor’s office’ and the investigation ‘did not result in disqualification’ for him.
They recall that he was placed on Spalletti’s initial list of potential players he would select, and the Aston Villa man ‘welcomed it as a positive sign’.
That’s why Zaniolo will ‘anxiously await the list today’, clearly hoping to be given a chance to represent his country against North Macedonia and Ukraine.
