AC Milan's Alessandro Florenzi 'under investigation for illegal betting'

AC Milan and Italy’s Alessandro Florenzi is reportedly the latest player to become embroiled in the illegal betting scandal and is under investigation by prosecutors.

AC Milan right-back Alessandro Florenzi is the latest Italian player to become embroiled in the illegal betting scandal, according to a report.

During the October international break, all of Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali, Juventus’ Nicolo Fagioli and Aston Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo were implicated in the investigation by the Turin prosecutor’s office.

Tonali and Zaniolo were on Italy duty when the reports broke, and both men pulled out of the Azzurri squad once the revelations became public, while Fagioli was not part of Luciano Spalletti’s squad at the time.

The Juventus midfielder admitted to gambling on illegal platforms and was given a seven-month suspension in October, meaning that he will not be able to play competitively again until the final weeks of the season in May.

Meanwhile, Tonali – whose agent revealed had been struggling with an addiction – was given a more severe 10-month ban, having confessed to betting on AC Milan to win matches while playing for the club.

However, Zaniolo has not been hit with any sanctions, as it is believed that the midfielder did not gamble on football games and only played blackjack and poker on the illegal platforms, meaning that he could escape with a fine.

According to AGI, similar accusations have now been levied against Florenzi, who is alleged to have engaged in “abusive exercise of gambling or betting activities” by the Turin authorities.

Florenzi is expected to be questioned by prosecutors over the next few days, but as was the case with Zaniolo – a former Roma teammate of his – he is not believed to have bet on football matches and was not targeted by threats or intimidation.

The 32-year-old is expected to hold a face-to-face meeting with prosecutor Manuela Pedrotta at Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, and it remains to be seen if he will defend himself in the same way as Zaniolo.

Florenzi represented Roma for two decades between 2002 and 2022, although he spent the final two-and-a-half years of his tenure on loan at Valencia, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan.

The Rossoneri signed the defender permanently for €2.7m (£2.4m) last summer, and he has scored twice in 49 appearances for Milan, where he is battling Davide Calabria for minutes at right-back.

Florenzi has made five starts for Stefano Pioli’s side in the 2023-24 Serie A campaign – also being deployed as a left-back and left wing-back – but he is yet to make a first XI in the Champions League.

At international level, the former Roma man was a part of Italy’s Euro 2020-winning squad and has won 49 caps for the Azzurri, but he has not been called up to the national team since June 2022.

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