Roma duo Stephan El Shaarawy and Nicola Zalewski have denied allegations of illegal betting, according to a statement from the club.
Over the past week, Italian football has been rocked by a gambling scandal involving three high-profile players in Nicolo Fagioli, Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo, who have been indicted by Turin prosecutors.
The accusations against Juventus midfielder Fagioli were the first to emerge, and the 22-year-old has now been handed a seven-month suspension after admitting to gambling on illegal platforms.
Meanwhile, the agent of Newcastle United midfielder Tonali has confessed that his client has been struggling with an addiction, and he could potentially be banned for up to three years after admitting to betting on AC Milan games while playing for the club.
Fabrizio Corona - an Italian entrepreneur and photographer - also claimed that Zalewski and El Shaarawy had taken part in illegal gambling, but Roma have blasted his "reputation-damaging" comments and revealed that both players deny the allegations.
"In response to recent rumours regarding the alleged involvement of some of the club's players in the football betting investigation, AS Roma expresses its full support for Nicola Zalewski and Stephan El Shaarawy, who have been subjected to reputation-damaging speculation," Roma said in a statement. "The club has total confidence in Nicola and Stephan when they claim to have nothing to do with this matter."
Following the revelations, Tonali and Zaniolo withdrew from the Italy squad, while El Shaarawy started the Azzurri's 3-1 Euro 2024 qualifying loss to England and Zalewski provided a goal and assist for Poland's Under-21s in a 5-0 Euros qualifying win over Estonia on Tuesday.
Roma occupy 10th place in the Serie A table and return to action against Monza on Sunday, where both El Shaarawy and Zalewski are expected to be involved.
Ben Knapton
