Juventus duo await ruling on match-fixing ban appeal

ROME, ITALY // Antonio Conte, the Juventus coach, and his assistant Angelo Alessio are expected to hear this week whether their bid to have a 10-month ban from football overturned has been successful.

The pair were handed the suspension by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) earlier this month for allegedly failing to report two incidents of match-fixing during their time in charge of Siena.

Conte, 42, and Alessio, 47, have appealed their bans and yesterday appeared in court seeking full acquittals over the allegations.

It was the testimony of Filippo Carobbio, a Siena player during Conte's tenure at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, that first brought the former Italy international under suspicion - but Conte's legal team have sought to discredit his evidence.

"The defensive strategy of Carobbio is clear - to try and avoid a criminal charge of conspiracy to defraud," Conte's lawyer Giulia Bongiorno told Corriere dello Sport.

"Carobbio accused Conte to deflect attention from his own role in the match-fixing.

"As far as this disciplinary committee is concerned, Carobbio never lies, he is 100% infallible. He is God-like."

However Stefano Palazzi, one of the FIGC prosecutors who handed Conte and Alessio their suspensions, responded in support of Carobbio, who received a 26-month ban from football for his alleged involvement.

Palazzi told the Corriere dello Sport: "All Carobbio's declarations are supported by the police investigations and the phone contact between the betting world and the footballers involved."

The court could rule on Conte and Alessio's ban as early as tomorrow - just three days before the start of the new Italian season.

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