The 23-year-old Italian international was found to have violated gambling regulations by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). As a result, he received a 10-month ban from all football-related activities, coupled with an additional eight months of therapy-assisted rehabilitation. Subsequently, FIFA has officially endorsed this suspension, making it applicable on a global scale.
Tonali joined Newcastle earlier in the summer from AC Milan in a £55 million ($68m) move and there have been suggestions from various sections that the Rossoneri was aware of his gambling addiction. Meanwhile, the Magpies’ sporting director Dan Ashworth also did not brush aside that possibility but maintained that it is “really difficult” to be sure about the same.
“It’s really difficult for me to get into what other clubs do or don’t know,” said Ashworth. “All we can do is look at our own internal investigation and internal process. It’s a really difficult question for me to answer, I just don’t know.”
This prompted the Lombardy club to release an official statement as a response to Ashworth’s statement.
“We first learnt about Tonali’s addiction through media reports and what we know is only what we read. We don’t know anything else.”
The FA have also reportedly started a separate investigation to find out if Tonali continued with his habit after shifting base to the shores of England as his agent, Giuseppe Riso admitted that the player was struggling with a gambling addiction.
Tonali will not be available for selection for Newcastle until the end of August 2024 and the club is mulling to bring in a replacement in the winter transfer window for the midfielder.