Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has endured a “difficult couple of weeks” but could play against Crystal Palace on Saturday, says manager Eddie Howe.
Tonali is being investigated by the Italian Prosecutor’s Office and the Italian football federation in relation to alleged illegal betting activity.
While Aston Villa say Nicolo Zaniolo – also involved in the investigation – is available to face West Ham on Sunday.
“[Tonali] is very much available for selection,” Howe said.
“He’s had a very, very difficult couple of weeks, he’s been dealing with a lot and, from what I can see, from a few hours a day, he’s handling himself really well and is dealing with emotions incredibly strongly.”
Tonali and Zaniolo left Italy’s training camp for Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and England after being told they were involved in an investigation.
Capped 15 times by Italy, Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan in July for £55m and has scored one goal in seven appearances in the Premier League.
“I got a phone call from Dan Ashworth [Newcastle’s sporting director] during the international break,” added Howe, on first hearing the news Tonali was being investigated.
“It was a total surprise to me, to him, to everybody. These are things when you’re in this job that can happen. My immediate thought process was to make sure Sandro was OK.”
In a statement on Friday, Villa said: “Zaniolo is assisting the Italian Football Federation and the relevant authorities’ investigation into alleged illegal betting activity. The player has also met with senior officials at the club.
“Zaniolo is training as normal with the first-team squad and available for selection ahead of this weekend’s match with West Ham United.”
On Tuesday, Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was given a seven-month suspension by the Italian football federation (FIGC) for breaching betting rules.
Fagioli had five months of a one-year ban suspended and was fined 12,500 euros (£10,848).
He also agreed to a therapy plan of at least six months to tackle his gambling problem.
“Education is always the most important thing, in academies, getting information through to players and develop good habits in life so important as a professional athlete,” said Howe.
“Try to get as many (players) as can to have as long a career as possible. Our duty as a football club is to help them do that.”
Newcastle are eighth in the Premier League, with four wins from their opening eight games, and are unbeaten in seven across all competitions – including an impressive 4-1 win over Paris St-Germain in the Champions League at St James’ Park.
‘It’s a problem that we should take more seriously’ – Hodgson
Palace manager Roy Hodgson expressed his sympathy towards Newcastle’s situation, with Tonali potentially facing a lengthy ban depending upon the outcome of the betting probe.
Premier League clubs have collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts by the end of the 2025-26 season.
However, after the deadline, clubs will still be able to continue featuring gambling brands in areas such as shirt sleeves and LED advertising.
And the former England boss says it is little surprise that an issue so prevalent in society was causing problems for modern-day players.
“We know that gambling is a problem in our society, and we don’t really help it in sport because we promote betting,” Hodgson said.
“I think it’s a problem that we should take more seriously perhaps than we have done. We’ve certainly made big strides with drugs, with alcohol, maybe gambling and betting will be the next subject to take on because I’m not just talking football, now I’m talking about society in general.
“So it’s not surprising with all the problems that gambling does bring to our society that footballers still sometimes get caught up in it, and unfortunately for them when they do the punishments are very strict.”
