Antonio Conte will be free to take up the reins at Chelsea after Euro 2016 regardless of the outcome of a match-fixing trial taking place in Cremona after the prosecutor in the case confirmed he would be seeking a suspended six-month jail sentence and a fine if the current Italy manager is found guilty of sporting fraud.
Conte, who signed a three-year contract at Stamford Bridge on Monday, is one of a number of defendants in the proceedings with the charge against him relating to his time as Siena manager in 2011. He strongly denies the allegations, which claim he was aware of attempts to fix the outcome of an end-of-season Serie B fixture between his team and AlbinoLeffe but did not report them, and has always maintained his innocence despite having already served a four-month ban, reduced from 10, imposed by the Italian Football Federation back in 2012.
The current legal process began with hearings in February with Conte's fast-track trial discussed on Tuesday. The prosecutor, Roberto di Martino, formalised his request to the court, presided over by the judge Pierpaolo Beluzzi in the northern Italy city on Tuesday, and will seek a six-month suspended sentence and an €8,000 fine if the case is proved against the 46-year-old manager. Conte did not attend the hearing but, having requested the trial be fast-tracked so as not to impact upon the national team's participation at the summer's European Championship, will await a ruling in mid-May.
Chelsea declined to comment on what is an on-going legal process, but are understood to be privately reassured by Conte’s consistent insistence of innocence. Regardless, there would technically be no obstacles barring him from taking up his new position even if he is found guilty and the judge imposes a suspended sentence.
The three-times Serie A winning manager has declared he will not comment publicly on the head coach role he will take on in July until the Azzurri’s participation at the summer tournament has concluded, but he is expected to visit Cobham before the end of the Premier League season to meet the players he will inherit. He has already held lengthy talks with the club’s hierarchy over prospective summer transfer targets.
His legal team have ruled out a plea bargain in the trial though his lawyer, the Milan-based Leonardo Cammarata, has described the protracted process as "a nightmare". Conte missed 15 of Juventus' Serie A matches and six Champions League games because of the suspension in 2012. "He is very tired of it," said Cammarata. "It has been a nightmare, completely crazy. We are convinced he is innocent and asked for this trial to be fast-tracked because we did not want a long and boring trial which would turn into a TV show at a time when he wants to concentrate on his football."
(Guardian service)
