Highlights
- Aston Villa’s impressive start to the Premier League season has been overshadowed by off-field developments, including Nicolo Zaniolo’s involvement in an alleged illegal betting activity investigation.
- Unlike Italy teammate Sandro Tonali, Zaniolo is unlikely to face disciplinary action.
- Sky Sports expert Kieran Maguire has questioned Villa’s sympathy in this situation, highlighting their controversial sponsorship agreement with BK8.
Aston Villa have made an exciting start to the Premier League campaign under Unai Emery; however, Sky Sports expert Kieran Maguire has been reacting to recent news behind the scenes at Villa Park.
Aston Villa off-field developments…
Despite taking 22 points from their first ten fixtures in the English top flight, Aston Villa have had to tread carefully regarding some off-field developments at the club that have come to light in recent weeks.
An update from the Villans’ official website last month revealed that summer signing Nicolo Zaniolo had been assisting the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) with their enquiries into an investigation into alleged illegal betting activity in the country, alongside meeting with senior club officials.
Zaniolo, who has attracted attention from media circles due to his implication in the alleged scandal, was dropped from the Italy squad last month alongside Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali for their double-header against Malta and England while football authorities in Italy tried to establish the nature of their proposed involvement in any illegal betting activity.
Nevertheless, reports indicate that Zaniolo is unlikely to face disciplinary action for any football-related offences and will instead incur a small fine for using online sites to play poker and blackjack, which he has admitted doing despite stringent regulations surrounding football and gambling.
The Italy international has been a key part of the Villans’ consistent start to the season and could start away to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday as Emery’s men aim to break into the top four of the Premier League.
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Nicolo Zaniolo’s statistics for Aston Villa in 2023/24 – all competitions (Transfermarkt) |
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Appearances |
13 |
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Goals |
0 |
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Assists |
0 |
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Nicolo Zaniolo key statistics – Premier League (WhoScored) |
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Shots per game |
1.9 |
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Successful dribbles per game |
1 |
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Key passes per game |
0.8 |
Kieran Maguire drops Nicolo Zaniolo verdict
Speaking to Football Insider, Sky Sports expert Maguire has indicated that ‘hard to feel sympathy’ towards Aston Villa over Zaniolo’s recent difficulties in light of the Villans’ controversial agreement with front-of-shirt sponsor BK8, an online gambling enterprise that has caused controversy in the past, with Norwich City cutting ties with the brand back in 2021.
Delving into the relationship between football and gambling, Maguire stated: “It’s exactly the same risk as signing a player who has suffered a serious injury such as an ACL. So it’s part of the business. I think it’s a much broader issue in terms of this ongoing relationship between the betting industry and young footballers who have significant amounts of cash.
“They have a competitive nature. They are attractive VIP customers to the betting industry who don’t seem to make a huge effort to screen things. It was an illegal gambling operation that he’s alleged to have been involved with and there will always be those. But it’s hypocritical to feel a lot of sympathy for Villa considering they recently decided to partner with a rather tawdry gambling organisation themselves. So it is hard to feel sympathy for them.”
Undoubtedly, the intertwining nature between football and gambling will continue to be a complicated one as more instances of activity relating to the two become apparent across Europe.