By David Gold
August 7 – Juventus coach Antonio Conte has suffered another blow after his assistant Cristian Stellini resigned from his position due to the ongoing investigation into match fixing in Italy.
Stellini (pictured above) was with Conte at former club Siena, and both are currently under investigation relating to their time at the Bianconeri.
While Conte was charged with failing to report an instance of match fixing at the end of the 2010-11 season, Stellini faced the more serious charge of sporting fraud.
He accepted a plea bargain this week that sees him banned for two years and six months, and subsequently handed in his resignation.
“The events of the last month have deeply affected me.
“In a short space of time I went from member of the technical staff of the champions of Italy to a cause of turmoil for those I worked with,” Stellini said in a letter published on the Juventus website (screen grab below) to club President Andrea Agnelli.
“Whatever the evolution of the legal situation I am in, I feel it is only right to show a professional attitude and release this weight from Juventus which fell on to the club’s shoulders due to my time elsewhere in my career.
“I think it is right to dedicate all my time and efforts to clearing my position in these matters, which are exclusively about me and not those I simply shared a locker room with.
“I therefore tend my irrevocable resignation as technical assistant at Juventus.”
Conte attempted to agree a plea bargain relating to his charges which would see him suspended from the game for three months.
That was rejected and he is now battling to prove his innocence, or face a lengthy ban.
Juventus, who were relegated to Serie B in the Calciopoli scandal in 2006, but are not involved in this outrage, have been hit particularly hard nonetheless by its impact.
Not only have their two key coaching personnel been under investigation, but so has one of their best defenders, Leonardo Bonucci, for allegations relating to his time at Bari.
The prosecutor in the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) investigation has requested he receive a three and a half year ban, while another Juventus player, Simone Pepe (pictured above), has been recommended for a one year suspension.
He is under investigation for failing to report the alleged fixing of a match between Udinese and Bari, which both he and Bonucci played in.
A number of other teams have already been punished while others – including Siena, Sampdoria, Bologna and Lecce – are facing censure as part of the investigation.
Juventus, who won Serie A without losing a match last year during Conte’s first season at the helm, kick off the new season against Parma at the end of August.
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