Tonali and the bets, the English investigation: what can happen now

The troubles for Sandro Tonali risk not being over. The Football Association, the English federation, has opened an investigation to understand whether during his three months in England the 23-year-old bet on the Premier League or, worse, on his Newcastle. The Italian who began last week to serve the 10-month ban imposed on him by the FIGC and extended to the whole world by FIFA has already been heard and has offered the FA the same collaboration given to the Italian investigators. The investigation is based on the fact that Tonali admitted to being a gambling addict: the English federation wants to understand if he committed violations while under his jurisdiction. Which could lead to further sanctions.

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In England, as in Italy, footballers (but also anyone associated with football, from coaching staff to managers and agents) are prohibited from betting on their sport. However, there is a certain tolerance if the bets are not on your own team or on the competitions in which you participate. Otherwise sanctions are triggered: like the 8-month ban that Brentford’s Ivan Toney is serving, the maximum ban ever inflicted on a Premier League player. This precedent suggests that, if it were established that Tonali gambled while in England, the FA could decide that the 10 months that the 23-year-old is already serving are sufficient, without the need to extend them. The FA could however add sanctions such as stopping training. It was part of the punishment for Toney, who was unable to set foot in his club’s facilities for the first four months.

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Tonali, however, resumed training on Thursday, after overcoming a small yellow card given by the incorrect way in which FIFA had transmitted the Italian disqualification to the Premier League. The world football government spoke of a generic stop “for any activity related to football”, but the FIGC disqualification is very specific and does not include training, for example. “Sandro is training and will continue to do so alone or in small groups – Howe said yesterday -. His goal must be to emerge improved, but it will be tough for him, especially on a mental level”. Dan Ashworth, Newcastle’s sporting director, also spoke yesterday and in a very rare meeting with the media he explained for 45 minutes the implications of the Tonali affair, including the fact that the Magpies have opened an internal investigation to understand why gambling addiction has not emerged during the recruitment process. The manager did not deny that Newcastle could try to take revenge on Milan, but the Rossoneri continue to repeat that they learned of Tonali’s problems from the press, when the story became public knowledge. The English club is also considering whether to reduce Tonali’s salary: by regulation, he can be punished with a fine equal to two weeks’ salary, which can be extended to 6 only with the approval of the English footballers’ union. However, the Italian could agree to a salary reduction during the suspension as a gesture of goodwill.