Newcastle and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali paid for his addiction to gambling.
The scandal in Italian football involving bets by current players on Serie A matches continues to gain momentum. The most famous person involved in this story, Sandro Tonali, received a disqualification for a period of 10 months. The 23-year-old midfielder will not play again this season and will miss Euro 2024 if the Italian national team qualify for him.
Tonali barely cried during interrogation
During the investigation, Tonali was not suspended from football activities, so this Wednesday he was able to take part in the Champions League match against Borussia. The Italian entered the field in the second half, but failed to save his team from defeat.
Last summer, Tonali’s transfer entered the top 10 purchases of Premier League clubs: the rising star of Milan cost Newcastle 64 million euros. For the new club, the defensive midfielder managed to play 12 matches in various tournaments, in which he scored one goal. Now he will only be able to play for the English club in the 2024/25 season.
Tonali’s problems with betting became known in early October, when Italian police tracked him and several other Serie A players as part of a case involving gambling in illegal bookmakers. It all started with the confessional testimony of Juventus footballer Nicolo Fagioli and businessman Fabrizio Corona, after which it became clear that several active players were dabbling in betting on football matches.
The police went straight to the base of the Italian national team, which was preparing for the qualifying matches for Euro 2024, to talk with Tonali and another person involved, Nicolo Zaniolo from Aston Villa. At first, the guys tried to convince investigators that they did not bet on football matches, but under pressure from the facts they had to admit everything. According to Italian press reports, the players were so frightened during their interactions with the police that they could barely hold back tears. As a result, their gadgets were confiscated, and later Tonali still said that he made bets as a Milan player.
Active athletes betting on their sport is a serious violation. In Tonali’s case, it was further aggravated by the fact that he made them from illegal bookmakers. In addition, Sandro did not just bet on football matches, but did it on the games of his club. The truth is only about his victories, which, according to the player’s agent, was some kind of ritual for luck.
Fagioli told investigators that it was Tonali who advised him to choose a dubious company. Fagioli’s cooperation with the investigation ultimately helped him reduce his disqualification period to seven months. Tonali also did not resist for long and received a ten-month ban, although the maximum sentence in such cases is three years. In this case, the player’s career could be put to rest.
Newcastle supported the player, but has claims against Milan
For Newcastle, Tonali’s transfer became the second most expensive in the club’s history. A year earlier, the Magpies only bought Alexander Isak (70 million) more expensively. Head coach Eddie Howe saw the Italian as the new midfield leader for many years to come. The player himself was motivated by excellent financial conditions: salary of 8 million euros after taxes + 2 million euros in bonuses. Obviously, Tonali will not see this money in his first season.
The betting story could have been a reason for the club to terminate the contract, but Newcastle is not going to give up the player. On the contrary, during the investigation, the management came out with support for Tonali, and the head coach emphasized that he still counts on the midfielder:
“He had a very difficult two weeks, he had to go through a lot. From what I see, he handles his emotions very well, but I’ll have to communicate with him. I have to get him back into football. For me, the most important part of this whole incident: Sandro and his well-being. We feel like one team. We immediately had to protect him and give him the love and support he needed to find solutions to his problems,” Howe said.
A fault confessed is half redressed. Tonali himself fully admitted that he has gambling addiction – a psychological addiction to gambling. Sandro said that he was going to undergo treatment with the help of a psychologist even before he was sentenced. But he would have had to do this in any case, since the decision of the Italian Football Federation includes not only a 10-month disqualification, but also a mandatory eight-month course of therapy. In addition, Tonali will be required to make at least 16 public appearances on the dangers of gambling.
Newcastle have no plans to offload Tonali, but could sue Milan for several million euros. At least, this is reported by a number of English and Italian publications. The essence of the claims against the Milan club from the Magpies is not yet entirely clear. Tonali’s transfer to Newcastle was formalized in early July, when nothing was known about the player’s problems with bets. It would be more logical to demand compensation from Tonali himself, but here a moral aspect arises. If gambling addiction is a disease, then demanding money from an addicted person would not be entirely ethical.
Tonali has already been punished quite severely: the young player is suspended from football for almost a year and will lose at least 8 million euros in salary. Perhaps his story will become a lesson for other players who decide to tickle their nerves with bets.
