Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali suspended for illegal betting

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said on Thursday that national team midfielder Sandro Tonali has been banned for ten months for placing illegal bets on sporting events, including matches involving teams for which he played. Thus, Tonali, who swapped Milan for Newcastle in the summer, will miss the rest of the season and Euro 2024, and will return to duty only in August next year. Tonali is the second Italian footballer since last week to be punished for illegal betting. And perhaps not the last.

The Italian Football Federation has announced a decision in the case of 23-year-old Sandro Tonali, who was found to have bet on sporting events on illegal bookmaker sites. Moreover, the midfielder of the Italian national team also bet on matches involving his teams – Brescia, for which he played until 2020, and Milan, for which he played until the end of last season (in the summer Tonali was sold to an English Premier League club “Newcastle”). The footballer did not deny his guilt and cooperated with both the Italian prosecutor’s office and the FIGC, which allowed the parties to work out an agreement.

It stipulates that Tonali avoided the maximum possible penalty of a three-year ban and only received a ten-month ban from football. The player’s lawyers based their defense on the fact that Tonali suffers from gambling addiction (“pathological attraction to gambling”), and both the authorities and the FIGC management accepted this version. At the same time, the football federation confirmed that Tonali did place bets on matches involving at least Milan, but, they say, he never bet on his team’s defeat, which means that his offense was not so serious. Taking into account the gambling addiction declared by Tonali’s lawyers, he will not only have to serve a disqualification, but also undergo therapy for gambling addiction for eight months. The midfielder will be able to return to the field in August 2024. This means that he will not only miss the rest of the season, but also will not compete at Euro 2024 (the Italian national team has not yet guaranteed itself participation in the continental championship). At the same time, Tonali is allowed to train with Newcastle, which will make his task somewhat easier when the time comes to return to action.

It’s too early to put an end to Tonali’s history. Newcastle, left without an important player for the whole season, may well demand compensation from Milan. Tonali’s summer move to Newcastle was swift and unexpected. There is reason to believe that Milan (he received €64 million for the footballer – they have never paid that much for any Italian footballer) knew that the authorities had taken on Tonali and assumed that he could be disqualified. Newcastle was not informed of such risks. Earlier, the English club reported that they were considering all options for a legal response to the incident. We also note that it is not yet clear whether Newcastle will have to pay Tonali’s salary during his suspension. And it is substantial – £6.2 million (€7.11 million) per year. But La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed that the player’s contract included a clause stipulating that Newcastle would not have to pay him anything in the event of a lengthy suspension.

The story of Sandro Tonali is part of a larger case of illegal betting, in which almost a dozen Italian football players are involved. One of them, Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli, already received a seven-month ban last week. By the way, he told the investigation that it was Tonali who dragged him into illegal activities, which cost Fagioli himself dearly. Now his debts – both to bookmakers and friends – exceed €3 million. The cases of the remaining defendants are still being investigated.

Alexander Petrov