– Sandro is upset. But he has started the fight. The biggest fight against the disease is underway. Sandro is used to big matches and usually wins them. Sandro’s experiences can help save the lives of other young people.
I saw the Italian star player Sandro Tonali player agent Beppe Riso admitted his client’s serious problems when the recent football betting scandal had become public.
Events began to fall in a rush a week ago, when the Italian national team gathered for their important European Championship qualifiers was met with a shock.
On Thursday, October 12, at 6 p.m., a police investigation team drove through the gates to the national team’s Coverciano training center in Florence.
The cameras of the Italian broadcasting company RAI showed when the goalkeeper legend, currently working in the management of the Italian national team Gianluigi Buffoni escorted Sandro Tonal, 23, and Nicolo Zaniolo24, for researchers’ stories.
The police confiscated the duo’s phones and other devices. Tonali and Zaniolo left the national team after this.
Both play at club level in the English Premier League. Tonali is Newcastle’s big summer signing and Zaniolo represents Aston Villa on loan from Galatasaray.
The Italian football confederation FIGC said the players were not in the right state of mind to take part in the qualifiers, but Italian news agency Ansa quickly reported the incident as part of an investigation into illegal betting.
In Italy, the “King of Paparazzi” confuses the big crowd
The news of Tonal and Zaniolo came a day after the FIGC said it was investigating Nicolo Fagioli. Fagioli was said to have used multiple identities to place bets on illegal betting sites.
Fagioli was eventually banned for seven months and fined 12,500 euros. In addition, he should seek therapy for his gambling problem.
Five months of the one-year ban that was initially imposed on Fagioli was changed to community service – Fagioli goes to talk about his experiences at amateur clubs and trainings.
The players named now are just part of a wider investigation by Italian authorities into illegal betting sites. The subject of the investigation is both website administrators and users.
Already the news about Fagioli filled the front pages of newspapers in Italy. Of course, the coverage got a completely new color when the police raided the premises of the national team. On top of all that, one of the core people of the scandal has been known by the nickname “King of the Paparazzi”. Fabrizio Corona.
A well-known and controversial media personality in Italy already published his accusations about Fagioli at the beginning of August. Corona has cooperated with the Italian police and shared his own information about jupaka.
Corona has threatened to publish, and partly has already published, more names that he says are related to jupakka. AS Roma striker By Stephan El Shaarawyn the lawyers have already published a statement refuting Corona’s claims and stating that El Shaarawy has never engaged in any kind of betting.
Corona, 49, received a prison sentence in 2007 for the Vallettopoli scandal, where money was extorted from numerous celebrities using photographs. In 2015, the Italian Supreme Court sentenced Corona to 13 years in prison for numerous crimes. He was granted parole this fall.
Corona has said that he is like Robin Hood: “I steal from the rich, I give the money to myself”. Corona has also emphasized that he is a mythological figure: “Half god, half asshole”.
Corona, on the other hand, is only a side plot in this saga, but he has a role in how massive the scandal has become in Italy. The only thing that is certain is that we will meet again in court – on both sides.
Tonali bet on his own matches
In any case, the star player Tonali is the focus of the jupaka. He led AC Milan to the Italian championship in the 2021-2022 season. In July 2023, Tonal became the most expensive Italian player of all time when he moved to Newcastle for 64 million euros.
Tonali admitted that he had bet on the matches of his own team, Milan. According to Tonal, he had bet on his team’s victory in betting. Tonali had played himself in some of the matches he bet on.
Gambling is allowed in Italy as long as the sites used are recognized by the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency. In Italy, the use of illegal platforms can be sentenced to three months in prison or fines of 51,000–516,000 euros.
However, the rules of the Italian Football Federation prohibit players from betting directly or indirectly on all events organized by FIGC, Fifa and UEFA. The punishment can be a three-year ban and a fine of 25,000 euros.
Also, according to Fifa rules, betting on one’s own matches can lead to a three-year ban. Tonal is believed to receive a lighter sentence because he has pleaded guilty and helped with the investigation. Fagioli also reached such a mediation solution.
Italian soccer expert Mina Rzouki estimated on the BBC that Tonal’s suspension would be half of the three years.
Newcastle pledged their support
Newcastle finished third in the Premier League last season and will play in the Champions League this season for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
Newcastle promised in its announcement full support for Tonali and her family. Also the president of the Italian Football Federation Gabriele Gravina showed his support to the players.
– As a person, I know both players (Tonalia and Zaniolo). They are like children to me. We should not judge these young boys. Gaming addiction is a social plague. The person who made the mistake will receive punishment and help in their healing and recovery project. We will not abandon these boys, Gravina stated.
In any case, the expected lengthy ban is a huge blow to Newcastle’s head coach To Eddie Howe. In addition, the club’s finances are already at the limits of the rules of financial fair play, so it is difficult to find an equally high-quality, replacement midfielder.
Tonal’s contract is for five years. It is very rare for a Premier League club to fire a contract player. Premier League players have clauses in their contracts that allow dismissal if the player commits “gross misconduct”. These clauses include, for example, doping issues, but not betting.
The investigation can take up to a month. For now, Tonali is fit to play when Newcastle face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League next Wednesday.
At Friday’s press conference, Eddie Howe reiterated his support for Tonal. He said that Tonali has practiced and handled a very difficult situation.
– As a football club, we throw our arms around him, we protect him, we try to give him the love and support he needs to find solutions to his problems.
Big demands were made again in England
Betting scandals have been seen in the Premier League in recent years as well. The Guardian wrotethat Tonal’s situation once again raises embarrassing questions about football’s difficult relationship with gambling.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney was banned for eight months in May for breaching FA betting rules. The FA overturned 30 suspected infringements, and Toney admitted the remaining 232.
England national team defender Kieran Trippier was banned for ten weeks in December 2020. He had given information to others that enabled betting on Trippier’s transfer from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid.
Represented Burnley Joey Barton was banned for 18 months in 2017 after admitting 1,260 football-related bets over ten years. The suspension was later reduced to 13 months.
It was pointed out in the British media that Newcastle must support Tonal – otherwise it would be hypocritical. Newcastle have commercial partnerships with three betting companies.
– Newcastle United and Aston Villa should be in solidarity with their players and evaluate their relationship with gambling companies, commented The Big Step.
The Big Step is a campaign to end gambling advertising and sponsorship in football. The Big Step website according to the UK there are 1.4 million gambling addicts and every year more than 400 people in England commit suicide due to gambling addiction. The charity group organizes various adventures and trainings and supports people whose loved ones have committed suicide due to gambling addiction.
The Premier League will ban clubs from advertising betting companies on the front of their shirts from the end of the 2025-26 season, but advertising will remain allowed in stadiums.
Serie A clubs have been banned from betting partnerships since the Italian government, concerned about gambling, tightened laws in 2019. A similar rule came into force in Spain’s La Liga two years ago.
Sources: Reuters, BBC, Sky Sports, The Athletic, The Guardian, La Gazzetta dello Sport