A probe into Conor McGregor’s alleged assault on an Italian DJ could take “up to two years”.
The UFC star, 33, has been accused of punching Francesco Facchinetti and breaking his nose at a party in Rome last October.
Dubliner McGregor had been in the Italian capital with fiancee Dee Devlin to baptise their five-month-old son Rian at the Vatican.
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Italian X Factor host and The Voice judge Facchinetti, 41, said the alleged incident at the five-star St Regis Hotel was “unprovoked and unexpected”.
His lawyer Matteo Sergio Calori said: “All Italian investigations are secret, therefore we can’t do anything else but wait...[it] could take up to two years.”
And the Italian police investigation into the allegation is ongoing, according to Facchinetti’s legal team.
McGregor was in the Italian city with his fiancee Dee Devlin as they baptised their then five-month-old son Rian at the Vatican.
Facchinetti, 41, who presents Italian X-Factor and serves as a judge on the country’s version of The Voice claimed the alleged incident was ‘unprovoked and unexpected.’
He officially filed a complaint against the Crumlin native with Italian police three days later.
His lawyer Matteo Sergio Calori said: “Preliminary investigations under Italian law could take up to two year.
“All Italian investigations are secret, therefore we can’t do anything else but wait.”
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He said he doesn’t know what stage the investigation is at and all they can do is wait.
“All Italian investigations are secret, therefore we can’t do anything else but wait,” he said.
Mr Facchinetti called the police following the incident at the five-star St Regis Hotel.
He claimed The Notorious – who has been named in Forbes’s annual list as the highest-paid athlete in the world with €180m in earnings – punched him in the mouth, broke his nose in front of 10 witnesses, his friends and bodyguards.
He alleged the Dubliner attacked him without motivation after they talked for more than two hours.
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Mr Facchinetti claimed in an interview at the time: “I could have shut up and not said anything to anyone, but since I’m here to tell it, I must say that that person is really violent and dangerous. If McGregor’s lawyer were to call me tomorrow and offer me €10m to withdraw the complaint and to withdraw everything, I would say no.”
And he told his local radio station Radio 105 at the time: “I don’t care about money, I don’t care about hype.”
McGregor could face from three months to three years in prison in Italy if he is charged and convicted of the assault.
The country also uses fines along with imprisonment as a form of punishment.
When contacted yesterday for a comment, McGregor’s PR agency responded with: “I expect an update shortly and will be sure to share at that time.”
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