Nicolo Zaniolo: Fiorentina winger could face lengthy ban after allegedly assaulting two Roma youth players

Fiorentina winger Nicolo Zaniolo could be facing a lengthy ban after Roma accused their former player of assaulting two youth team players.

The incident allegedly happened after Fiorentina beat Roma 2-1 in the Primavera youth league title play-off semi-final on Monday, with Zaniolo watching the game from the stands.

Zaniolo, who spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Aston Villa, denied any wrongdoing after Roma issued a statement on the “regrettable incident” but the Italian soccer federation reportedly opened an investigation on Tuesday.

“On the evening of May 26, at the end of the Primavera Fiorentina-AS Roma semi-final played at Viola Park, Nicolo Zaniolo (a player from the Fiorentina first team) illegally broke into the Roma locker room area, accompanied by an acquaintance, despite not having accreditation,” Roma’s statement read.

“According to witnesses, Zaniolo appeared visibly upset. He urinated in the facilities reserved for Roma, provoked the players and, without any verbal exchange, physically hit Mattia Almaviva and violently pushed Marco Litti against a bench.

“Litti was recovering from shoulder surgery. Both players were examined in hospital: Almaviva received a prognosis of 10 days, Litti 21 days.

“AS Roma expresses its full solidarity with its young players and is deeply outraged by the violent and unjustifiable behavior that occurred at Viola Park.

“We trust that the competent institutions will act decisively to ensure justice and protect the values of Italian football.”

Zaniolo is on loan at Fiorentina from Galatasaray. He joined the Turkish team from Roma after five years at the capital club, during which he was named Serie A young player of the year in 2019.

“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 greet and congratulate them on their season too,” Zaniolo said in a statement released by Fiorentina.

“But at a certain point they started insulting me so, at that point, to prevent the situation from degenerating, I preferred to leave.”

Zaniolo apologises but was ‘provoked’

Zaniolo then took to his personal social media account on Tuesday to apologise for the incident but insisted his reaction was “provoked” and no “physically aggressive behaviour” was used.

“I want to apologise with all my heart for what happened yesterday,” he said on Instagram.

“I know I reacted in a bad way and I take full responsibility. I went there with the sole intention of sending a positive signal, of being close to the boys in a difficult moment after the match.

“Unfortunately, I was verbally provoked by a boy and, mistakenly, I lost my temper. It is a mistake that weighs on me, especially because I know I have to be an example for young people.

“However, I want to point out that the facts are far from what has been reconstructed and that on my part, apart from a verbal argument, there was no physically aggressive behaviour.

“I know I have disappointed with this episode, but I hope you can understand that it was not my intention to disrespect anyone.

“Having said that, I renew my apologies. As a man, as an athlete and as a person who loves this environment, I just want to rebuild and look ahead with humility.”

Zaniolo was considered one of Italy’s most promising prospects and made his international debut as a teenager in 2019.

But injuries derailed his career. He has not featured for Italy since being ruled out of last year’s European Championship after breaking his metatarsal while on loan at Villa in the penultimate match of the season.