Newcastle United fans are wondering whether the club could sue Milan for the imminent Sandro Tonali betting ban, but it would require ‘a high degree of compelling evidence’ to prove they knew he was gambling.
The player made the transfer to the Premier League over the summer for €80m, but is set to be suspended for at least 12 months after confessing to placing bets on illegal sites, including on his own team.
There are several reasons why he is facing a significantly longer ban that Juventus midfielder Nicolò Fagioli.
Tonali was placed under investigation before he had confessed to the authorities, and unlike Fagioli he also placed bets on Milan.
However, as the bets were to win and not to lose, he could not be accused of potential match-fixing or trying to adversely affect the result.
Juve have so far been the only club to make a public statement on their player’s involvement in the betting scandal, and that is because they were openly accused by gossip columnist Fabrizio Corona of knowing Fagioli was gambling.
The Athletic spoke to Dr Greg Ioannidis, attorney at law and professor of clinical sports law at Sheffield Hallam University, who insisted there would need to be a very high burden of proof that Milan were aware of Tonali’s gambling in order for the club to be sued or punished.
“It would be a long shot but, theoretically, this is one option Newcastle have, and it may form the basis of legal action, as Newcastle may take the view that Milan fraudulently or negligently misrepresented all material facts,” says Dr Ioannidis.
“This is a fact/evidence-based exercise and it may require a high degree of compelling evidence and certainly something more than what an agent said and/or omitted to say.
“Newcastle must also, from the outset, make it absolutely clear that they had no knowledge of the player’s alleged betting activity and/or were not in a position where they ought to have had such knowledge.”
The players under investigation who confessed have all said they were gambling on sites and apps using their phones and computers, so the idea that the clubs would be aware of this behaviour in their spare time is extremely unlikely.