The ongoing investigation into Aston Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo and Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali over alleged illegal betting may have been handed a blow as the anticipated phone evidence is not as detailed as had been hoped.
That’s according to La Repubblica, relayed by Libero Quotidiano, who say there is a ‘mystery of the smartphone’ to now be dealt with.
They explain that the Newcastle man is ‘ready to end his football betting nightmare’ with a plea deal, similar to what occurred with Juventus’ Nicolò Fagioli.
The Italian is now waiting for the federal prosecutor, Giuseppe Chinè, to notify him of an agreement to be signed, which is likely to be a nine- or ten-months suspension.
Before formulating a definitive proposal, Chinè took time to wait for an analysis of chats on mobile phones seized from Tonali and Aston Villa’s Zaniolo.
However, that analysis ‘risks being a disappointment’ as, according to La Repubblica, the smartphones ‘contained few elements.’
They state that it has not yet been verified if they’ve been deleted or anything of that nature but there is a belief they offer no new information as they have been formatted, or alternatively, used only recently. In other words, they offer nothing new to the investigation.
It is because of this that perhaps Zaniolo, who has consistently maintained his innocence in terms of betting on football, has not yet been summoned from Aston Villa to be heard. Unlike the other two, he hasn’t asked for a plea deal.
Several reports in Italy have indicated that is because there is no evidence against him and La Repubblica are seemingly backing that up, suggesting that the analysis of the smartphones has provided nothing new or incriminating to help the investigation’s case.
