Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli has apologised after being served with a seven-month suspension by the Italian Football Federation over a breach of betting rules.
Fagioli had five months of a one-year ban suspended and was fined €12,500, while he agreed to a therapy plan of at least six months to tackle his gambling problem.
"I thought I would begin by apologising not only to Juventus fans, but to all fans in the world of football and sport for the naive mistake I made," Fagioli said on his Instagram account.
"Instead, I'm forced to start with the disgusting things that newspapers and people write about me, just to put me in a bad light with a thousand lies, or rather, just to gain two more views."
For now, the 22-year-old has not gone into any further details, but ended his social media post by saying that he will speak soon.
Fagioli made his Italy debut in November last year in a friendly against Albania but it is his sole cap and he was not part of their squad for Saturday's win over Malta and Tuesday's defeat in England.
Compatriots Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo last week returned to their clubs from Italy's training camp after it emerged they were being investigated by the Turin Public Prosecutor's Office.
Reports in Italy claim the probe into Newcastle midfielder Tonali and on-loan Aston Villa forward Zaniolo is in relation to illegal betting.
