Tonali banned for 10 months for betting rule breaches
Newcastle and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali is banned for 10 months by the Italian Football Federation for breaching betting rules.
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Newcastle Player Banned
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- Apr 25, 2016
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Maybe an unusual take on this - but i query the "addiction" side of this - was he an addict and out of control, or just a daft lad who enjoyed a bet and thought he'd get away with it?
I bring this up after recently reading Paul Mersons book Hooked - he was at pains to let it be known, he is an addict when it comes to both Gambling and Alcohol, but not drugs. Yet when he was first identified as an addict and paraded with George Graham by his side, he was told by the FA that drugs were evil and he must say that drugs were the real curse. Merson said he knew then that wasn't true and he knew he could give up drugs and never re-offend, his issues were drink and gambling related, but the FA insisted on a 6 week stint in Rehab solely focused on drug abuse, in essence missing the problem.
Have (albeit Italian FA) the authorities just fallen in line with Gambling is evil line as it suits a current agenda?
I'm sure this will rumble on, as clearly Newcastle will want to know how much the authorities and previous club knew about this issue before allowing the transfer to go ahead.
I bring this up after recently reading Paul Mersons book Hooked - he was at pains to let it be known, he is an addict when it comes to both Gambling and Alcohol, but not drugs. Yet when he was first identified as an addict and paraded with George Graham by his side, he was told by the FA that drugs were evil and he must say that drugs were the real curse. Merson said he knew then that wasn't true and he knew he could give up drugs and never re-offend, his issues were drink and gambling related, but the FA insisted on a 6 week stint in Rehab solely focused on drug abuse, in essence missing the problem.
Have (albeit Italian FA) the authorities just fallen in line with Gambling is evil line as it suits a current agenda?
I'm sure this will rumble on, as clearly Newcastle will want to know how much the authorities and previous club knew about this issue before allowing the transfer to go ahead.
Not anymore, ban now officially ratified by FIFA and comes into play with immediate effect.
In 1961 Argyle signed a player called Keith Williams from Tranmere. When he did play for the first team he looked very decent and in the reserves he was outstanding. But off the field he was (as he told me in 2011) "a daft lad" adding "if I was Ellis Stuttard I would have got rid of me too. When I signed as a footballer I had been on £6 a week. When I signed for Argyle I was on £20, £6 more than at Tranmere. So the maths was simple. I could live on £6 a week - the club house in Bridwell Road was only £2, ten shilling rent - so to my mind that left £14 to bet and drink with."
He signed for Bristol Rovers in January 1962 and during the following season got mixed up with a bribes racket where matches were being thrown by a match-fixing ring led by former Argyle man Jimmy Gauld. Williams, foolishly, took a bribe to throw a game against Bradford City.
At the time I met him I was interviewing everyone I could find from the 1961-62 season. In every other case I made an appointment but I called on Williams without prior notice, worried that if he knew I was interested in his football career he may prefer not to see me. I could not have been more wrong. The first time I rang his bell there was no answer. I went next door and they told me he was, as on every Sunday, at church. I must have looked surprised, so the Iady confirmed her neighbour was called Keith Williams and that he once played football. I put a note through his door and asked him to call me at a local hotel. He did contact me within an hour and said he was interested in speaking to me that nothing was off limits. In an emotional interview at his home in Eastham (on the Wirral) he told me that it was the first thing he thought of each day when he woke up and that God had helped him through the worst of times. "I had plenty of time to reflect as I worked 12 hour days at the Metal Box Company in Birkenhead, 12 hours in front of a furnace with half an hour for dinner and £8 wages at the end of the week. I suppose you could say I was dishonest twice. First, I took the money to throw the game (against Bradford PA) but then I just went out and played normally. When I walked on that pitch there were no way I couldn't compete. Infact, it was me who started the ball rolling with being found out, because I felt so guilty that I went to the manager at Rovers (Bert Tann) and owned up. My head was all over the place and there was no way I could play the next game. He told me that if I played he would forget what I said. I did play, in a Bristol derby, and scored in a 4-1 defeat. But the game was up and the police got involved. At the hearing I had to ask what sine die meant and when I found out they asked me if I had anything to say. All I could think of was 'Well, you may as well cut my feet off'."
Looking back at my notebook from the day we met I put in big letters "WHAT A TRANSPARENTLY HONEST OLD MAN" because that it is how he came across. I genuinely felt he bared his soul to me. - and my note through the door had given him an out. I will admit I liked him immensely. Definitely a case of a man where a harmless flutter turned into a life-changing habit. John, chapter 8 verse 7 applies.
He signed for Bristol Rovers in January 1962 and during the following season got mixed up with a bribes racket where matches were being thrown by a match-fixing ring led by former Argyle man Jimmy Gauld. Williams, foolishly, took a bribe to throw a game against Bradford City.
At the time I met him I was interviewing everyone I could find from the 1961-62 season. In every other case I made an appointment but I called on Williams without prior notice, worried that if he knew I was interested in his football career he may prefer not to see me. I could not have been more wrong. The first time I rang his bell there was no answer. I went next door and they told me he was, as on every Sunday, at church. I must have looked surprised, so the Iady confirmed her neighbour was called Keith Williams and that he once played football. I put a note through his door and asked him to call me at a local hotel. He did contact me within an hour and said he was interested in speaking to me that nothing was off limits. In an emotional interview at his home in Eastham (on the Wirral) he told me that it was the first thing he thought of each day when he woke up and that God had helped him through the worst of times. "I had plenty of time to reflect as I worked 12 hour days at the Metal Box Company in Birkenhead, 12 hours in front of a furnace with half an hour for dinner and £8 wages at the end of the week. I suppose you could say I was dishonest twice. First, I took the money to throw the game (against Bradford PA) but then I just went out and played normally. When I walked on that pitch there were no way I couldn't compete. Infact, it was me who started the ball rolling with being found out, because I felt so guilty that I went to the manager at Rovers (Bert Tann) and owned up. My head was all over the place and there was no way I could play the next game. He told me that if I played he would forget what I said. I did play, in a Bristol derby, and scored in a 4-1 defeat. But the game was up and the police got involved. At the hearing I had to ask what sine die meant and when I found out they asked me if I had anything to say. All I could think of was 'Well, you may as well cut my feet off'."
Looking back at my notebook from the day we met I put in big letters "WHAT A TRANSPARENTLY HONEST OLD MAN" because that it is how he came across. I genuinely felt he bared his soul to me. - and my note through the door had given him an out. I will admit I liked him immensely. Definitely a case of a man where a harmless flutter turned into a life-changing habit. John, chapter 8 verse 7 applies.
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Newcastle must be incredibly frustrated/angry about this. You sign a player for 60 million, and not long later he's unavailable for 10 months. Would they be obligated to carry on paying his wages? I can't help but wonder if Milan knew this may be an issue and so were keen to get rid.
