An Italian court Tuesday called for new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte to receive a six-month suspended prison sentence over match-fixing allegations. The current Italy manager, who will take over Chelsea after Euro 2016, is accused of sporting fraud. The ‘Calcioscommesse' (football-betting) probe maintains that the 46-year-old former Juventus boss failed to expose an alleged rigged second-division match in May 2011. The game involved Siena, whom Conte managed at that time. Conte, who denies any wrongdoing, was also ordered to pay an 8,000 euros ($9,000) fine, by Cremona court public prosecutor Roberto Di Martino. The May 29, 2011 game suspected of being fixed for betting purposes ended with a 1-0 away win for Conte's side at Albinoleffe. Siena gained promotion to Serie A that season, with that success earning Conte the job at Juventus, the club he graced as a player for 13 years. In 2012, when he was in charge of Juventus, Conte was hit with a 10-month ban by the Italian football federation over the affair, reduced to four months on appeal. The new man at Stamford Bridge is due to hear his fate on whether he is hit with a criminal sentence in mid-May. Conte's lawyers elected for a fast-track trial in order to get it wrapped up before the European championships begin in France on June 10. Tuesday's development came less than 24 hours after Conte was appointed on a three-year deal to take charge of Chelsea. The ‘Calcioscommesse' scandal broke in June 2011 and has seen many well-known figures from football serve bans for match-fixing, such as former Italy internationals Giuseppe Signori and Cristiano Doni. Higuain gets 4-match ban Napoli's Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain has been hit with a four-match ban following his sending off in Sunday's 3-1 defeat to Udinese, a blow for his team which is battling with Juventus for the Serie A title. Higuain was shown his second yellow card for kicking out at defender Felipe, prompting the striker to launch a verbal tirade against the referee. The 28-year-old had to be pulled away by teammates as he tried to angrily remonstrate with Udinese players. Higuain, the top Serie A scorer with 30 goals, will miss upcoming games against Verona, Inter Milan, Bologna and Roma, severely damaging his side's chances of a first Serie A title in 26 years. Defeat left Napoli six points adrift of leader Juventus, as it bid to snatch a first league title since Diego Maradona played his penultimate season at the club in 1990, with seven games to play. The disciplinary commission sanctioned "an insulting term" used against the referee as well as "a disrespectful gesture when he faced him and laid his two hands on his chest." It also evoked "aggressive behavior towards an opponent" and pointed out that Higuain had "to be restrained by his teammates." Napoli, which is second with Roma four points behind, is already weakened for its next game at Verona following suspensions of defender Kalidou Koulibaly and striker Dries Mertens. Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri will also be suspended for a match after he was sent to the stands for dissent during the game.
