A prosecutor is seeking a suspended six-month sentence for Antonio Conte for his alleged involvement in a match-fixing case.
Just a day after it was confirmed that the Italy boss would be taking charge at Chelsea following the conclusion of Euro 2016 this summer, as noted by ESPN FC, he is facing more controversy after the formal request was made by Roberto Di Martino.
Di Martino also requested that Conte should be handed an €8,000 fine in relation to accusations that the 46-year-old committed sports fraud in 2010 when he was coach of Siena.
Having already served a four-month ban during the 2012/13 campaign for failing to report fixing, the continued case will undoubtedly be a concern for the incoming Chelsea boss.
Nevertheless, he continues to deny any wrongdoing, as reported by Sky Sports, with the defence due to make its final statement on April 11 before a verdict is reached in mid-May.
While an appeal case will likely be launched in the event that Conte is found guilty, it is expected that this matter could rumble on for some time which would undoubtedly act as a disruption to his plans for the Azzurri in France this summer.
More importantly, it continues to taint his reputation by being linked with the case and naturally it will lead to plenty of scrutiny from the media both in and out of England ahead of his arrival at Stamford Bridge in the summer.
With such an important few months ahead in his career as he looks to sign off with the national team in style as well as begin to put the pieces in place to build a legacy at Chelsea, Conte’s on-going issues in the court rooms will be an unwanted distraction.
He will hope to be cleared of any charges in May which in turn will allow him to focus fully on the tasks in hand, but it may not turn out to be so simple.