Betting: Tonali will collaborate, but the FIGC wants to send a strong signal

Soon Sandro Tonali will have to dry his tears and react. His repentance is evident to anyone close to him, he has understood that something that is more similar to a pathology than a vice is putting his career at risk. A career that has made him one of the strongest players in Europe, so much so that he was paid 80 million euros last summer. The former AC Milan talent, now at Newcastle, has already decided to tell the two prosecutors – that of the Republic of Turin on the criminal front and the federal one on the sporting front – the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And if for the first line he should only receive a not too large fine, for the second the risk of a blow is real. It is clear that if Tonali is ready to report himself to the FIGC prosecutor Giuseppe Chiné, among the bets made there are also those on football. Article 24 of the Code of Sports Justice is clear: it is not forbidden to bet on sport, but doing so on FIGC, FIFA and UEFA competitions is a heavily punished violation. The expected sanction is at least three years of disqualification, which can even rise to five if it is found that a player has bet on a match of his own team and can be reduced thanks to solid collaboration with the Prosecutor’s Office.

repentance

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The latter is therefore the path chosen by Tonali, also in light of the path taken by Nicolò Fagioli who should soon reach a plea agreement. The Juventus player, despite sensational twists and turns, will in fact be heard by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office for the last time during this week, so the disqualification should arrive: with an agreement before the referral the sentence is automatically cut by 50% (therefore the minimum stop of 3 years would drop to 18 months), plus a further reduction resulting from the information he first wanted to provide and which should bring the stop to 10 months. For Tonali, however, the story may not be as “simple”. First of all because it is still not clear whether he bet on Milan – a circumstance which obviously would constitute a heavy aggravating circumstance – but also because the Football Federation wants the betting case, between an admission and a repentance, not to be perceived by the players as well as by public opinion, as a very serious stain to be erased as soon as possible. But let’s take it one step at a time.

the next steps

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Chiné has been opening the file on Tonali for days (as well as that on Zaniolo), is waiting to receive the papers from Turin and above all the outcome of the analysis of smartphones and tablets. However, the process could be accelerated if the player self-reports. At that point, as happened with Fagioli, the prosecutor will try to get the right answers to clarify the position of the Newcastle midfielder. Tonali’s confession alone will not be enough to have an idea of ​​what the sanction could be. In fact, it is necessary that his version fully matches the material collected by the Turin Prosecutor’s Office. For Fagioli it was like this, Tonali – given the reaction to that notice of guarantee received in Coverciano and the immediate desire to cure his gambling addiction with an expert – will certainly be honest to the end. However, it takes a long time: the federal prosecutor’s office has recently started an investigation into the former Milan player. If we think that Fagioli was heard at the end of August and we have not yet reached the referral, it seems clear that a few months will be necessary to fully understand how things stand – even in the event of a confession.

opportunity

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The Football Federation, as we said, wants to send a strong signal. Fagioli, the first player to emerge from the Turin cards, is a special case, for the others the discounts could be less generous. In fact, the objective is to make everyone understand that this practice cannot be part of today’s football. And in this sense punishment alone, however severe, is not sufficient. Just as even sincere repentance is not enough. What the Federation wants to do is to make the protagonists of this story negative examples for other young people suffering from gambling addiction. For Fagioli the agreement has practically been reached, also because he is working in perfect harmony with Juve. If Tonali also seeks a plea deal, he will be asked to go to the communities that host those who are addicted to gambling, to ensure that this latest scandal turns into a driving force of positivity also towards the football system, too often considered responsible for every malfeasance which revolves around the ball.