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Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has been cleared of doing nothing to prevent a
2011 match-fixing scandal while manager of Siena after a fast-track trial in
Cremona.
The prosecutor had requested a suspended six-month sentence and fine of over
£6,000, but Judge Pierpaolo Beluzzi said Conte, who will coach Italy at Euro
2016 before taking up his new post at Chelsea, was acquitted because the
accusations of sporting fraud were baseless.
"It was a full acquittal. What matters is that for him, this story is over,"
said Francesco Arata, one of Conte's lawyers after the ruling was read out.
"We talked to Conte on the phone and he was very happy.
Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio welcomed the
decision, telling Italian newspaper Il Sole: "I am highly satisfied with the
court's acquittal of Antonio Conte.
"Finally his position has been clarified and my confidence in him has never
been in question. Now we are all the more focused on the Euros."
Conte, who has denied wrongdoing, served a four-month ban during the 2012-13
season when he was at Juventus for failing to report fixing at Siena.
The match under investigation involving Conte was the Novara-Siena game in
May 2011 which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Another game, Siena's 1-0 away win at Albinoleffe, was dropped from the
inquiry. Siena finished second in Serie B in 2011 and was promoted to the
top division.
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