ITALY COACH ANTONIO Conte has been cleared of accusations of sporting fraud following a hearing in Cremona on Monday at which which prosecutors had requested a six-month prison sentence, Italian media reports said.
Conte is now free to lead Italy at Euro 2016 before becoming Chelsea coach following the tournament’s conclusion on 10 July, according to reports on the website of sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport.
Conte had been accused of not reporting an episode of match-fixing relating to a Serie B match with AlbinoLeffe from May 2011 when he was coach of Siena.
Although former players and other figures had been involved in the affair, Conte was the most famous.
The 46-year-old former Juventus coach has always denied any wrong-doing in an affair in which players allegedly colluded with underworld figures to fix matches and recoup the rewards of an illegal betting network.
A lawyer for Conte, Francesco Arata, said last month: “He’s a total stranger to the betting world and that’s why he will be cleared by the judge.”
Fine player and was guaranteed choice for team of the year. Here’s hoping to more like him coming through
@Shaun Gallagher: sure Porter is not far off him as it is. He would certainly have been fighting it out for a starting berth on the Lions team if it wasn’t for his injury
Over the years tight head props were at least perceived as being slower and less skilful than loose heads. A few years ago before he hit the interprovincial and international stage I asked him if he ever considered switching to loose. He looked at me like I had 2 heads. But after I explained that with his speed and skills he might get more freedom and be on the ball more often at loose he didn’t knock me off my barstool. He said that he would be sticking with tight but would show that modern No 3s
could have all the skills and still anchor the scrum. How right he was. He has set the standard for tight heads worldwide. Brilliant rugby player.
@JG: this is a bit like the Michael Owen BBC sports personality of the year tweet!
Wonderful player great watching him play long may he last
I wonder is he better than Peter Clohessy was?
Just curious but he is one hell of a player
@O’Brien Michael: Claw was a legend but he was a penalty machine. Also, Furlong has broken the mold with his handling and footwork. That simply didn’t exist for props 15 years back.
@Steve O’Farrell: thats a fair comment old chap
A super player, why wouldn’t he amd his mother a Cork woman, but he tries (pun) to keep that quiet.
Great article, and a super player .let’s hope he stays injury free for the next World Cup . Well need all his skills to table for that .
Not only is he the best tighthead in the world at the moment, he is arguably the greatest tighthead prop there has ever been.
G’wan Tadhg ur a ⭐️