Eddie Howe spoke of an “emotional” phone call with a “devastated” Sandro Tonali this week, of the club’s “responsibility” to a young man in the hardest week of his life and of throwing a protective arm around a player whose gambling addiction is likely to lead to a lengthy suspension from football.
Behind him was a sponsorship board emblazoned with the logo of online betting and casino platform Fun88, Newcastle’s former shirt sponsor and one of three club betting partners. Welcome to the Premier League in 2023, where the uneasy relationship between gambling and the sport feels increasingly close to breaking point.
After Ivan Toney last year Tonali, Newcastle’s £52m summer signing, is the latest player in the spotlight. But he surely won’t be the last.
At a packed press conference on Friday, Howe was not in the mood to discuss the wider issue – sticking to his well-worn policy of refraining from commenting on matters outside of football – but it is about time someone in a position of authority did.
A recent investigation by Channel 5 News revealed fans were bombarded with a barely believable 11,000 adverts for gambling in the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
It has become part of the culture now, allowed to become firmly embedded in the fabric of game as clubs bank the sponsorship cash and ask few awkward questions. So is it any wonder when a high-profile player – despite the harsh possible penalties – transgresses?
“He is a young lad in a very difficult moment and a difficult situation and when you see things behind this arena, you have a totally different perception of events,” Howe said of his dealings with Tonali this week.
“I understand the media’s perception of events [but] I see the person, I see the human, I see the pain and the distress so it’s a very different way of seeing the same situation.”
It is early days but the potential ramifications of Tonali’s case, for the player himself, for sport’s relationship with gambling and for a club that stretched Financial Fair Play rules to buy him in the summer, will be profound.
Much is still unknown despite a flurry of often conflicting reports in Italy, where Tonali’s face has been splashed across front as well as back pages. Howe hinted that the player has been candid with club staff about the extent of his gambling but admitted there was shock at Newcastle, who were blindsided by the news from Italy.
Unconfirmed claims in Tonali’s homeland claim the player betted on games involving his former club Milan, an offence which could land him with a three-year ban if proven. But with co-operation and a commitment to reform it could be more like 12 months – still a devastating blow for player and his club.
There are other questions to be answered, such as whether Milan – a Champions League group opponent for Newcastle – were aware of Tonali’s problem before they sold him.
i understands the Serie A club maintain they were in the dark but Howe said Newcastle “will do what they have to do” when asked about possible future legal action.
Newcastle, too, will face questions about the extent of their due diligence before signing the 23-year-old. It is a club where FFP constraints mean they cannot afford a bad signing and a long suspension would leave Newcastle perilously short in the midfield department.
For now, and in public at least, those concerns have been parked. Newcastle’s focus instead appears to be on supporting Tonali as he faces a reckoning in his private and professional life.
Howe spoke of the club’s long-term commitment to Tonali and of a belief that he would emerge from this a better person and player. There is no anger inside the club, he added.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing. We can’t play that game,” he said.
“I don’t think there is anger from the club. I think there is understanding for the situation we are in. Now we have to make a really tough situation the best we can, navigate our way out of it, support Sandro the best we can and get back to playing football.”
Having trained twice – and well, according to Howe – Tonali will be involved against Crystal Palace on Saturday. Whatever the bigger issues behind Tonali’s situation, the show must go on.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/kOUqH2a
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