Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo have been sent home from international duty after Italian authorities opened an investigation into allegations made against the Premier League stars. Newcastle United midfielder Tonali and Aston Villa winger Zaniolo have been accused of allegedly breaching betting regulations during their time playing in the Serie A for AC Milan and AS Roma respectively.
Italian news agency ANSA claimed that both players had been questioned by police as part of a betting probe after the allegations were made by Italian gossip columnist Fabrizio Corona.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) issued a statement confirming the pair would be returning to their clubs after they were interviewed by police on Thursday afternoon at the national team camp in Coverciano but did not specify the nature of the investigation.
FIGC’s statement read: “The Federation announces that this afternoon the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office has conducted investigations into players, Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo, who are currently training with the national team at the Coverciano Federal Training Centre.
“Regardless of the allegations, we believe in this situation the players are not in the necessary condition to face the commitments scheduled in the next days. The Federation has decided, also to protect them, to allow them to return to their respective clubs.”
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Neither club has publicly addressed the allegations made against their players. Aston Villa declined to comment when approached by Express Sport, while Newcastle have also been contacted for comment.
It is not yet clear whether the FA will decide to open their own investigation or if the matter would be solely handled by FIGC, given that the allegations made against both players specifically relate to their time playing in Italy.
Tonali made the headlines as one of the biggest signings in Newcastle’s history this summer after the Magpies agreed to pay £60million to Milan to sign the 23-year-old.
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He scored on his Premier League debut in a 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa at St James’ Park and has gone on to make 10 appearances for Eddie Howe’s side.
Zaniolo, 24, was also a new arrival in the Premier League this summer, joining on a season-long loan deal from Turkish club Galatasaray. He is yet to score in nine appearances for the Midlands outfit, but has netted twice for the Azzurri in 15 caps since his debut in 2019.
The players have faced each other during their careers in the Serie A while playing for Roma and AC Milan and have been called up to the Italy national team on several occasions together. However, they have now been sent back to their clubs during the international break.
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