Chelsea's incoming manager Antonio Conte should be handed a six-month suspended prison sentence in a hearing into sports fraud, according to the Cremona public prosecutor Roberto Di Martino.
Conte is being investigated over his alleged failure to report the arrangement of Albinoleffe's Serie B clash with his Siena side in May 2011. The 46-year-old, who will end his two-year stint as Italy's head coach after Euro 2016 to move to Stamford Bridge this summer, is accused of being aware of a match-fixing agreement for that game, even though he was not directly involved.
According to a preliminary investigation into that fixture, it emerged that Conte was aware of an agreement to allow Albinoleffe to win -- which they did 1-0 -- if Siena did not require a positive result to be promoted. Ferdinando Coppola, who was Siena's goalkeeper at the time but did not play in the fixture, claimed in his 2013 sports court hearing that Conte had "left it up to us to decide for ourselves."
He said: "Conte reminded us that he wanted to finish top, but that if the team felt obliged to adhere to the agreement with Albinoleffe, he would let us get on with it."
In addition to a six-month term, which would then only be a suspended sentence, Di Martino has suggested that Conte pay a fine of €8,000, the ANSA news agency reports. The full hearing will take place in early to mid-May, when Di Martino's suggestions will be debated along with the evidence and a final sentence will be handed down.
Conte requested and obtained an accelerated process to enable him the opportunity to clear his name or learn of any sanctions ahead of Euro 2016, allowing him then to be able to focus on his duties with the Italy national team.