Betting scandal: Tonali should be banned for 10 months – on the pitch against BVB?

Newcastle’s 64 million transfer

After the seven-month ban against Juventus professional Nicolò Fagioli (22), the next verdict in the Italian betting scandal is imminent. A ten-month ban is to be imposed on Sandro Tonali (23), Italian and English media report unanimously. This means that the 23-year-old will not be deployed again until August 2024 at the earliest.

The verdict has not yet been pronounced. According to the Times, UEFA would like to make this official before Newcastle United’s Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday evening (9 p.m.), but not all the details have been clarified yet. Tonali’s lawyers met with the Italian prosecutor’s office and the football association this week to negotiate a settlement.

On Tuesday, Newcastle coach Eddie Howe responded to the question at the matchday press conference whether he was planning to use midfielder Tonali: “From what I heard, I assume that he is available. I’ll plan like this until I hear otherwise. I can’t question what’s going to happen. He trained today and is available.”

Howe also commented on plans to replace Tonali, Newcastle’s royal signing in the summer with his €64m move from AC Milan: “To be honest, it’s a bit too early for that. I know there are a lot of rumors circulating, but until we know definitively what will happen in January, we have time to prepare a strategy for that moment, but it is not that time yet.”

In addition to the planned ban, Tonali, like Fagioli, will then take part in a therapy program for gambling addicts and work on anti-gambling initiatives. Both of them, just like Nicolò Zaniolo (24) from Aston Villa, are accused of betting on illegal websites. The Italian national players had stated in the investigations that they suffered from gambling addiction. Fagioli also stated that he had received physical threats if he was unable to pay off betting debts he had accumulated. The young professional is said to have gambled away more than a million euros on online platforms. Zaniolo is due to be questioned by Italian prosecutors on Friday. It is still unclear whether and for how long the Galatasaray loan will be blocked.

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