Sandro Tonali: Newcastle midfielder still available despite 10-month ban for breaching betting rules
Sandro Tonali admitted to making bets on AC Milan matches during his time with the Serie A side; Italy international midfielder joined Newcastle for £55m this summer; Eddie Howe: "I think there's a high chance again that he could be available for us"
Friday 27 October 2023 18:36, UK
Newcastle are in an extraordinary state of limbo with midfielder Sandro Tonali set to travel with the squad for Saturday's game against Wolves despite a 10-month ban from football hanging over him.
Tonali is to be banned over breaches of rules on betting on matches in Italy.
According to Sky in Italy, the 10-month ban still needs to be rubber-stamped by the Italian authorities. Formal ratification could come on Friday afternoon, but until it does, Tonali is available for selection.
Once the ban is ratified, the 23-year-old, a £55m summer signing from AC Milan, will miss the remainder of Newcastle's season and Italy's Euro 2024 finals campaign, should they qualify. Tonali will not be able to play competitive football until August 2024 but is free to train with Newcastle and play in friendlies.
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Speaking at Friday's press conference, manager Eddie Howe confirmed: "We've not had official confirmation as a football club. We've not had anything from the Italian authorities so we are waiting for that official confirmation to come through. There's a high chance he could be available for us. A few things need to happen before the ban is imposed so let's see."
Howe added: "You saw from the Dortmund game he did very well. He's been bright and he's trained. The only way I can judge him is on that. He's been good around the group and the training ground. From how I can see, he's handling himself in the right way.
"I think I said in the press conference the other day, I can't work with hindsight. We didn't know this was even a possibility. There's a frustration that we won't have him now as I liked him as a footballer."
Howe said it would be down to the club if it would pursue a legal matter. The Newcastle boss hopes all parties can learn from the episode.
"There's always scope to improve what we're offering our players in terms of education," he continued. "There's pitfalls to being a professional footballer and if we can offer this guidance more, it will help avoid future scenarios.
"If he's banned for a length of time, he's going to have difficult moments during that timeframe. There will be a period where it's just training and no game and that's going to be difficult to adjust to. The communication between myself, the coaching staff and him is going to be hugely important.
"We need a squad robust enough to deal with these things even though you can't foresee these things.
"I'm slightly removed from everything because I'm focused on training and game preparation. Then you come back to hear another piece of news.
"I've mentally accepted the situation that I'm not going to know what's going on. I'll probably hear it further down the line. I've made peace with the fact that I'll be without Sandro for a long time."
Tonali must also attend treatment sessions for problem gamblers and give a series of talks about his experience over a further eight-month period as part of his deal with Italian authorities.
Sky Sports News understands the PFA are working with the player.
The federation acted following an investigation by Turin prosecutors into soccer players using illegal websites to bet on games.
Tonali had been assisting the investigation and his legal team have been working on a plea bargain after he admitted to making bets on AC Milan to win games in a hearing at the Italian Federation in Turin.
Without his cooperation, Tonali could have faced up to a three-year suspension under FIFA rules.
FIGC President Gabriele Gravina said Tonali was suspended for 18 months but that eight of those months were commutable by attending treatment for gambling addiction and making at least 16 public appearances at centres for young soccer players and associations for recovering addicts.
"We can't just think about punishing the boys and not helping them recover," Gravina added. "I think it's worth a lot more, rather than a month ban, eight months of giving talks about what they went through, in an honest way and with the right behaviour."
Tonali came off the bench during Newcastle's 1-0 defeat to Dortmund on Wednesday evening and Howe said the club is "committed to him long-term".
Does Tonali owe the club an apology?
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe:
"I'm not going to say he owes the club an apology. Or to you [the media]. It's a conversation between myself, the player and the club.
"I've made peace with it. All you can do is condition your brain around the facts you have at any given moment.
"I don't really have plans for January at this moment in time. I'll have an eye on it and we'll have an idea but we're going to have to be adjustable.
"The picture can look very different when January comes. At the moment, our attacking resources are stretched but who is to say what we may need come the end of December. It's difficult to assess right now.
"It'll be very difficult for him as it will be monotonous. It's going to be a challenge for us to make sure he comes out of the period a better player than the one he is now.
"No one knows away from the football pitch how hard this can be for young players.
"I've seen a lot of comments about how we should have known. There's no way we could've known. There's some details you can never know about someone's personal life. You make a signing in good faith. But these things can happen.
"The situation he's found himself in isn't a new problem for football."
