Someone from inside Newcastle United has claimed that the club will do more due diligence on future signings after being left ‘questioning’ whether AC Milan knew about Sandro Tonali’s gambling issues.
It was confirmed last September that Tonali’s lawyers had accepted a ten-month ban on playing for their client after a plea bargain, plus eight months of treatment his gambling addiction after he placed bets on Milan and other games.
Milan, as has been made clear before, were not aware of Tonali’s gambling addiction and were not expecting any contact from Newcastle over the case.
However, last week it emerged that the midfielder was also being charged by the FA for breaches. The ex-Brescia man is alleged to have breached FA rule E8 50 times by betting on matches between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023.
As ChronicleLive recall, Newcastle director Dan Ashworth previously stated he ‘just didn’t know’ when asked if Milan might have known about Tonali’s issues. Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani said the Rossoneri ‘read the news like you’ while boss Stefano Pioli insisted he ‘didn’t know anything’.
Now, Newcastle’s loan manager and former player Shola Ameobi has commented on the situation, during an interview with Stadium Astro.
“It’s really hard when a player has something that no one knows about. He has hidden it. Whether AC Milan knew or not, that’s up in the air and I know that’s something that Newcastle United are questioning, but the player didn’t tell anyone,” he said.
“It’s very hard to get anything out of a player if he’s not willing to disclose it and he’s not willing to own up to it. I know the way that we recruit, the manner in which we scrutinise every incoming player, will be different now because of what’s happened.”
What happens now for Tonali? Well, the report adds that Newcastle are hopeful that any subsequent ban ‘will run concurrently to Tonali’s existing suspension’ and Eddie Howe has urged the authorities to not ‘throw the book’ at the midfielder. However, we must wait and see.
More must-reads: