AS Roma have accused former club player and current Fiorentina striker Nicolo Zaniolo of showing up to the club’s capital facilities intoxicated, urinating in the dressing room and assaulting two youth players, sending both of them to the hospital on Monday.
Roma released the following statement on Tuesday:
“On the evening of May 26, following the Primavera semi-final match Fiorentina vs AS Roma at Viola Park, Nicolò Zaniolo (Fiorentina first team) unlawfully entered the Roma dressing room area accompanied by an associate, despite lacking accreditation,” Roma said in a statement.
“Witnesses report Zaniolo appeared visibly intoxicated. He urinated in Roma facilities, provoked players, and, without verbal exchange, physically struck Mattia Almaviva and violently pushed Marco Litti against a bench. Litti had recently undergone shoulder surgery. Both players required hospitalization: Almaviva received a 10-day recovery prognosis, Litti 21 days.”
Zaniolo has denied this, saying he walked away after being insulted.
“At the end of the match I went down to the locker room to congratulate the Fiorentina boys and then I went to the Roma locker room to say hello and congratulate them on the season, but at a certain point they started insulting me so, at that point, to avoid the situation degenerating, I preferred to leave,” he said.
Zaniolo played for AS Roma from 2018 to 2023 before moving to Galatasaray. After that, he played on loan to Aston Villa, Atalanta and for Fiorentina in the last six months, playing 13 games in all competitions.
Next steps
Given the complexity of this situation, it’s tough to tell what’s next but in Roma’s statement, they include backing their players and hoping that institutions will act to ensure accountability and protect the values of Italian soccer.
Add Comment