Luciano Spalletti had planned to tap into the recent Premier League experience of Nicolò Zaniolo and Sandro Tonali for Italy’s Euro 2024 qualifier against England at Wembley. Both players featured in his first game in charge of the Azzurri last month and were called up again for this latest international round. On Friday, however, they left Italy’s training base after being informed that they were under investigation by public prosecutors in Turin.
Zaniolo and Tonali were questioned and had electronic devices seized by police during a surprise raid at the Coverciano facility one day before. The Italian football federation (FIGC) released them back to their clubs, observing in a statement that they could not be in the right frame of mind for games against Malta and England and stressing a desire “to protect the players as well”.
It is not yet known what charges, if any, they will face. Thursday’s police actions were part of a wider investigation into illegal betting platforms, which Zaniolo and Tonali are alleged to have used. Gambling on unlicensed websites in Italy is a criminal offence that can carry a prison sentence of up to three months or a sliding scale of fines.
There is a separate thread of sporting justice. Professional footballers in Italy are prohibited from betting on any competition organised by Fifa, Uefa or the FIGC. Doing so is punishable with a three-year ban, though this may be reduced with a guilty plea. Any such suspension would be expected to apply to Premier League games as well.
Gianluca Tognozzi, a lawyer representing Zaniolo, told La Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday that his client had not placed any bets. “It’s possible that he played a card game like poker or blackjack on an illegal platform, without realising that they were,” said Tognozzi. “But we will clear all this up.”
Tonali’s representatives are yet to make any public comment, though Gazzetta reported that he will cooperate with the FIGC’s prosecutor Giuseppe Chiné. An article in its sister newspaper, Corriere della Sera, stated that he intends to seek therapy for a gambling addiction.
The sporting justice process could run for several months. Another footballer, Juventus’s Nicolò Fagioli, was previously named as part of the Turin prosecutors’ investigation. Chiné was given 60 days to bring charges after the FIGC opened its case against the player at the end of August. Following a similar timeline, we might expect decisions in Tonali’s and Zaniolo’s cases around mid-December.
All may continue playing for their club sides in the meantime. Zaniolo and Tonali could theoretically have represented Italy at Wembley. Spalletti declined to say who made the decision to send them home but defended it in an interview with Italy’s Sky Sport, saying: “We cannot take two kids who are shaken up by what’s happened to play a match like this.”
Tuesday’s game is not make-or-break for either side. England hold a commanding position in Group C thanks to their victory in Naples in March, while Italy know that even a win at Wembley would not change their outlook too significantly. Barring an upset elsewhere, their qualification will be determined by the result of their game against Ukraine in Leverkusen next month.
Still, this is an important fixture for Spalletti, who took charge under less-than-ideal circumstances in August. Roberto Mancini’s sudden resignation to take the Saudi Arabia job left his successor with three weeks to prepare for qualifiers against North Macedonia and Ukraine. Italy drew the first of those games but won the second and looked like a team that was starting to buy into the manager’s attacking ideals as they thrashed Malta 4-0 on Saturday.
The squad is below full strength. Even before Tonali and Zaniolo departed, they were missing wingers Federico Chiesa and Mattia Zaccagni through injury. Spalletti gave the 34-year-old Giacomo Bonaventura a first call-up since 2020 – a reward for excellent performances with Fiorentina – and the midfielder responded with a spectacular opening goal against Malta.
When a journalist had asked before the game if Bonaventura could be Italy’s Jude Bellingham, Spalletti had responded with a “yes” and a grin. Afterwards he corrected himself that Andrés Iniesta “might be the right comparison”.
It remains to be seen whether Bonaventura will start against England, having played 87 minutes at the weekend. Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi should feature on the right of attack, after following up his five goals in six league games with two more for the national side. The 29-year-old had accepted an offer to join Juventus this summer, but the clubs failed to reach a deal.
For all the distractions, this is still an Italy team with plenty of quality. Three-quarters of the defence – Matteo Darmian, Alessandro Bastoni and Federico Dimarco – started a Champions League final, together with midfielder Nicolò Barella, for Internazionale this June. Davide Frattesi has since joined them at San Siro and now has four goals in his last three Italy appearances.
Spalletti is relishing his part in bringing a group together. The man who led Napoli to their third Serie A title in the spring said recently that he was “living in paradise” since taking on the “highest office of my career”.
These last few days have been challenging, and he has sought to walk a line between supporting his players while respecting the justice process, but none of it has dimmed his enthusiasm for a visit to Wembley. When a journalist asked on Monday if he was still a happy manager, the reply came easy: “Yes. I’m off to play a great game in a great stadium.”
