Antonio Conte denies match fixing allegations while at Siena calling it a “hoax”
The Juventus manager has been in the spotlight following disclosures by Antonio Bellavista, a central figure in the match fixing scandal sweeping the Serie, that he had asked a friend to contact Conte when he was at Siena to influence the outcome of the Siena vs Sassuolo match. Bellavista claimed Conte was called up and in addition a text message sent. According to reports, Conte did not respond but might still fall afoul of the Cremona prosecutors for a “failure to report” this illegal contact.
The call and the text was a confirmatory follow up to an already agreed upon scheme whereby Siena would chalk up an impressive victory over Sassuolo which they did with a 4-0 margin.
While these might be mere speculations, they are still nevertheless, extremely damaging. Unsurprisingly, Conte was forced to came on the air to denounce it as a hoax and an attempt to distract him now that Juventus was challenging AC Milan so strongly for the Scudetto.
“I do not have to defend anything. I’m not disappointed, nor angry or surprised. All this is part of the game. It’s a game I do not agree with and it’s not good. But there it is. I read the news that I was involved in several newspapers and it made me smile. The same news was reported by a newspaper 8 months ago.”
He went on to add that he was focused on wresting the Scudetto from Milan and he had no doubt the judicial investigations would ultimately reveal the whole truth. This is going to be yet another Serie rollercoaster ride as the repercussions from the first Calciopoli continue to reverberate after six years.
(From the Gazzeta Dello Sport)