Newcastle United\u2019s Sandro Tonali faces an uncertain future <\/p>\n
S<\/span>o Sandro Tonali has provided Newcastle with greater problems than the conundrum of if and how he and Bruno Guimaraes can play together. Not least because there is the very real possibility that the Italian and the Brazilian, some \u00a3100m of imported class, may be soon barred from taking the field together. Not, it should be said, by anything Guimaraes has done.<\/p>\n Investigations by the Italian police and the Italian Football Federation resulted in Tonali\u2019s removal from the Azzurri squad. Should he be banned for illegal betting on football, the \u00a350m signing\u2019s season, which began with one of the great debuts in Newcastle history, could be abruptly curtailed. The precedents from Tonali\u2019s homeland are not promising: the Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli will serve a seven-month suspension for gambling on games. In Tonali\u2019s case, there is a significant difference which could increase the sanction: he reportedly admitted to betting on AC Milan matches. Which, as he was their midfield fulcrum at the time, compounds the offence. The maximum penalty possible is a three-year ban. <\/p>\n Tonali may be more symptom than cause of a wider issue, more victim than offender. His agent, Giuseppe Riso, said the 23-year-old suffers from a gambling addiction. If so, he is not alone: so does Ivan Toney. The Brentford and England striker scored 20 Premier League goals last season: he has none so far this season for the simple reason he is mid-way through an eight-month ban for betting, including on his own teams to lose in games where he was not playing. <\/p>\n