Tonali's Newcastle move subject to internal probe - with legal options on table
Newcastle chief Dan Ashworth has admitted Sandro Tonali's Magpies move is the subject of a full internal club probe - and all legal options remain on the table.
Ashworth today lifted the lid on the “massive shock” that has rocked the club, as he faced a grilling on the fall-out from the Tonali transfer saga. The club would not have done the £55m Tonali deal with Milan in the way it was struck if they had known about his gambling addiction and impending ban for breaking betting rules in Italy.
Newcastle are also “cooperating fully” with the FA in case Tonali has breached betting rules AFTER he signed for Newcastle, which opens the possibility of action here. Director of Football Ashworth says the Tonali case is unprecedented in his 16 years in football and the first the club knew of it was “in a social media post” from Italy.
Ashworth spoke out today to address the tough questions the scandal has thrown up and said: “‘It was a massive shock, a massive surprise. Dealing with it was new to all of us. It came from nowhere.”
The club is examining “all processes” that led to the signing of a player who was banned last week for ten months by the Italian authorities for offences committed in Milan and Brescia. United now want to find out the precise timeline of the Turin prosecutor’s investigation and have refused to comment on whether they will then pursue action.
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Tonali, 23, has been praised by Ashworth for his full and speedy admissions about his actions. He can return to action in August next year. Newcastle are likely to still have to fork out instalments of his transfer fee due in January because the contract is “tight.”
What have you made of the Sandro Tonali situation? Have your say in the comments section
Sandro Tonali has been ruled out until August (AFP via Getty Images)Asked if Tonali's betting on football stopped when he joined Newcastle in July, Ashworth said: “What I can say to you, as a football club and Sandro, we have fully cooperated with all of the associations, organisations and related parties. All I can deal with is the present and the facts. I can't look into the future. The FA are, of course, fully aware of what's going on.”
Then asked if Tonali’s wages could be cut and if he breached any misconduct clauses in his contract, Ashworth added: “Any player’s contract situation is private and confidential.
“The standard Premier League contract is just a case of filling in the blanks, putting the numbers where they need to be. Within that there are some areas, legally, if you are in breach (of contract) or serious misconduct, just like all of us would sign at work. So there are protections within there. Similar to all our contracts.
“Sandro has been outstanding since this has happened and has been fully collaborative. He’s been an outstanding professional in that context. He feels that he’s let himself down and any player who is missing for a prolonged period of time feels bad about it.”
Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth has addressed the situation (Richard Lee/REX/Shutterstock)Ashworth was then grilled on whether he would still sign Tonali. He replied: “I think if you know a player's going to be out for 10 months whether that's through a medical injury or through something like this, you'd either have to look at the deal again or structure the deal in a different manner.
“But as a player, from the performances of the player and the character and personality, no reservations. We’re all disappointed that we’re losing a player of Sandro’s calibre for 10 months.
“In my experience, the board and the owners are incredibly supportive people who will want to support the player and his family. I know that Sandro has had support from board members.”
Eddie Howe's team will take on Arsenal without Tonali (Richard Bowcott/IPS/REX/Shutterstock)What Milan knew of Tonali’s problem, if anything, before deciding to sell, is yet to be determined, which could make for an awkward boardroom atmosphere at St James’ Park when the clubs meet in December. Ashworth said: “We’ve had no conversations since the game in Milan, but obviously we’ll welcome them to St James’ Park, as we have with Dortmund and PSG."
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Howe says Tonali faced a “lonely” period. The club is trying to clarify if he can play in friendly games for instance during a winter break in Saudi or in pre-season.
Howe said: “He is training with us. He started that lonely, I say lonely, but he’s around his teammates, I mean lots of sessions, individual and short in numbers sessions. It is a mental test for him to come through as a better player. That is our objective as coaches, to make him better.”
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