Italy head coach Antonio Conte is clear to take charge of Chelsea in the summer after being acquitted of charges pertaining to sporting fraud, an Italian judge has announced.
The 46-year-old, who will move to England and Stamford Bridge after leading Italy at the European Championship, had been accused of failing to report his knowledge of an incident of attempted match-fixing during his time as Siena boss in 2011.
Cremona-based prosecutor Roberto Di Martino had asked for Conte to be handed a suspended six-month prison sentence and fined €8,000, but the former Juventus coach, represented by lawyers, was on Monday acquitted by judge Pierpaolo Beluzzi during a preliminary hearing.
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.”
In 2012 Conte, who has always denied any wrongdoing, served a four-month ban imposed by the FIGC in connection with the case, which is known in Italy as ‘Calcioscommesse’.
