When it was revealed that Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali had been betting on football matches, everyone knew the punishment would be severe.
This meant that when the 10-month ban sentence came, many were braced for it, but that doesn’t mean the midfielder has been forgiven just yet.
In fact, Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday, looking at how Luciano Spalletti’s new-look Italy have been to date, single out the Newcastle star by giving him a 4/10 for his time there.
Set to miss out on the Euros, the midfielder will have to watch his compatriots at next year’s Euros from home, and will be deeply regretting his actions.
Gazzetta point out he should have been one of the ‘great protagonists’ of Spalletti’s cycle with the Italy national team, and would have been ‘almost certain’ of a spot in next year’s squad.
However, when it became clear that an investigation was going to take place, there was no longer a space for the Newcastle man in his manager’s plans.
The newspaper explain that while Tonali ‘hopes to quit the habit’ of gambling, they make it clear that betting on football games was an ‘unforgivable mistake’.
They use Nicolo Zaniolo as an example, who, while caught gambling, did not go as far as betting on his own sport, and was therefore spared a ban.
