TOON HIT RIGHT TONE WITH TONALI WHO’LL HAVE TO ATONE LIKE TONEY

CONSIDERING there has been no denial of reports in Italy that suggest Sandro Tonali has admitted placing bets on AC Milan matches during his time as a player there and to using illegal betting sites, Newcastle United’s support for him is extremely admirable.

“He and his family will continue to receive the club’s full support,” said a club statement on Wednesday.

Eddie Howe elaborated on that support when, on Friday, he spoke about the situation

“As a club, we throw our arms around him, protect him and give him love and support,” said the Newcastle manager.

“I see the person, I see the human, I see the pain and the distress. I say he is a top lad and a top character. That is why my thoughts are always with the player and making sure we look after him.”

And all of that is exactly what you would expect from Howe, particularly after Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, described his client as a “gambling addict”.

Addicts need help, that much is for sure.

But Newcastle’s and Howe’s immediate, unequivocal backing for their £55million player – before the facts of his case are known – is interesting.

What if Tonali (below with Howe) knew this investigation was coming down the line when he signed for Newcastle? What if his Serie A club Milan knew this was coming down the line when they, rather surprisingly, sold him?

Where do Newcastle stand on players breaking rules that have been made clear to them?

Because addiction can be at the heart of these matters and because everyone knows the misery that gambling can bring, the subject of players being punished for breaking regulations on betting can be a sensitive one.

From their responses, it is clear Newcastle and Howe see Tonali as much a victim as sinner here… if not more so.

And that might have been the case when Ivan Toney was banned for eight months for breaking betting rules.

Toney’s breaches numbered 232 over a four-year period, an average of one a week.

A psychiatrist, Dr Philip Hopley, diagnosed Toney as having a ‘gambling addiction.’

Hopefully, the treatment Toney has, presumably, been getting produces the desired effect. Ditto with Tonali. One of the big talking points produced by these cases revolves around football’s relationship with gambling.

But perhaps it is worth pointing out that the Tonali and Toney cases – along with a handful of recent others – remain outliers. Considering the number of professional footballers – men and women between the ages of 17 and mid-to-late 30s – the resistance to the temptation to bet on the game you play APPEARS to be quite strong.

The other big issue, of course, is whether or not football has a moral responsibility NOT to promote gambling.

It probably has, but, then again, the Government sanctions the constant promotion of the National Lottery, essentially urging us ALL to gamble.

So, it is a very complex discussion.

What is for sure is gambling addicts need assistance.

What is also for sure is that thousands of professional footballers do not break the betting rules.

Those that do might well deserve help… but they also deserve punishment.

‘‘ What is for sure is that thousands of professional footballers do not break the betting rules. Those that do might well deserve help… but they also deserve punishment