The Italian football betting scandal explained: Why Newcastle's £60 million signing Sandro Tonali has been banned for 10 months

On August 2, Fabrizio Corona, a hugely controversial media figure in Italy known as 'The King of Paparazzi', claimed Juventus and Italy midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was suffering from a "serious gambling addiction" and was heavily in debt as a consequence.

On October 10, newspaper La Stampa revealed that Fagioli was being investigated by public prosecutors in Turin as part of a probe into illegal online betting platforms. The player's legal representatives then issued a statement claiming that their client was cooperating fully with the authorities and had been the first to inform the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) of his involvement in the affair at the end of August.

"With reference to the news that appeared in the press today, we can state that our client is facing the matter with responsibility and a view to maximum transparency and collaboration with the ordinary and sporting judicial authorities, as demonstrated by the fact of being the first to take action in a timely manner with the federal prosecutor’s office [of the FIGC]."

Corona subsequently claimed that "Juventus knew about Fagioli from August 1" and that they "failed to report it to the judicial authorities", but the club quickly countered, "With regard to what has been reported by some media outlets, Juventus FC specifies that as soon as it received news of the possible involvement of its player Nicolo Fagioli in the issue of betting, it immediately and promptly contacted the FIGC Federal Prosecutor’s Office."

Two days after the publication of La Stampa's story, police officers turned up at Italy's training base at Coverciano to question both Tonali and team-mate Nicolo Zaniolo, and inform the pair at they were under investigation by the Turin Public Prosecutor's Office. The pair were promptly released from international duty.

"Regardless of the allegations, we believe in this situation the players are not in the necessary condition to face the commitments scheduled in the next days," read a statement issued by the FIGC. "The Federation has decided, also to protect them, to allow them to return to their respective clubs."

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti had no qualms about the decision to send the two players home. "When you have to bring home results, there is always anxiety [before a game], but it was a different night, with a lot of bitterness for what happened," he said the following day. "The whole team is close to Tonali and Zaniolo, we are very sorry for them and we will continue to be close to them, even though they have the spotlight on them. We must try to help them defend themselves.

"But it is also right that justice takes its course and, if irregular things have been committed, then it will be right [for them] to pay."

On October 17, Fagioli was suspended for 12 months, of which five were suspended, and fined €12,500 (£10,800/$13,300) as part of a plea bargain that will see the midfielder carry out community service and undergo treatment for his gambling addiction.

Fagioli's full co-operation had been crucial to the lenient sentence because the usual ban for breaching Article 24 of the Code of Sports Conduct is at least three years, which would have placed his top-flight career in considerable doubt.

As it was, Juventus pledged their "full support for Nicolo Fagioli in tackling this path, as well as providing the player with the necessary support in carrying out the indicated therapeutic plan and, as expressly provided for in the agreement, collaborating with the Federation to outline the scheduled appointments.

"We are firmly convinced that Nicolo, with the support of the club, his team-mates, his family and the professionals who will assist him, will face the therapeutic and training process with a great sense of responsibility and, once the disqualification has been served, will be able to return to competing with due serenity."

The following day, both Tuttosport and the Gazzetta dello Sport, published extracts from Fagioli's deposition that highlighted the scale of his gambling problem. "The worst moment was between April and March 2023, when I was so scared that I made a mistake during Sassuolo-Juventus and I was subbed off," he reportedly told prosecutors. "I started crying when I sat on the bench, thinking about my debts and betting problems...

"At night, I had stopped sleeping. The more time passed, the more debts haunted me. My debts kept increasing and I was gambling just to try to make up. They told me 'We’ll break your legs.' I had so much debt that even if I had won, I would get nothing out of it...

"I had accumulated a debt of €250,000 (£218,000/$265,000) in September 2022 and pressure from managers of illegal platforms started. Sometimes, I would cover part of the debt by going to Milan and buying luxury watches. I paid with a bank transfer. Sometimes I delivered the watches myself, other times, the platforms' owners picked them up at the jewellery shop.

"After September 2022, I started gambling compulsively in front of the TV on any sporting event I watched, including football, Serie B and Lega Pro. I can’t even remember how many events I placed bets on...

"I borrowed money from some of my team-mates, saying I wanted to buy a watch for my mum. [Federico] Gatti gave me €40,000 (£35,000/$42,000) and I still have to return it. [Radu] Dragusin [now at Genoa] also gave me money and some of my friends in Piacenza too."

Fagioli, whose debts eventually ended up totalling €3 million (£2.6m/$3.2m), claimed that not one of his team-mates knew the real reason for the loans, while he also insisted that he never bet on matches involving either Juventus or his former club, Cremonese.

However, according to the alleged deposition extracts, Fagioli claimed that he had been first introduced to illegal betting apps by Tonali during an Italy Under-21 training camp.

"I saw him playing and asked him what he was doing," he is quoted as saying by Tuttosport. "He told me that I could do it too because there was no trace of betting.

"I placed the first bets on tennis and then football events. I placed bets on irregular sites. I remember one called Betart and another, Icebet. There were others but I don't remember what they were called because they changed names every month."

According to reports in Italy, though, Tonali denied introducing anyone to illegal betting sites or apps during his three-hour deposition.

Just like Fagioli, Tonali agreed to co-operate fully with the investigation, while he also sought professional help before being sentenced. However, a lengthier ban was always likely for two reasons.

Firstly, Tonali bet on games involving his own teams (Brescia and Milan) - but, thankfully, never to lose, which meant there was no element of alleged match-fixing.

Secondly, Tonali didn't go to the FIGC - or any other authority for that matter - to report his use of illegal online betting sites before the story broke. Consequently, there was talk that he would be banned for a full year.

However, on October 26, FIGC president Gabriele Gravina announced that Tonali's plea deal "consists of a 10-month ban plus eight months of rehab activities." He will also make 16 "public appearances", which will most likely mean giving talks to youngsters and youth-team players warning them of the perils of gambling.

In a hammer blow for Italy, Tonali will miss the conclusion of the national team's Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, while he would also sit out the tournament in Germany as his ban will run until August of next year, which obviously means that he won't play for Newcastle again until next season either.

As for Zaniolo, his case is ongoing - but very different to those of Tonali and Fagioli. The Aston Villa attacking midfielder insists that he never bet on football and only played card games such as blackjack and poker on sites that he didn't know were illegal. If that is proven to be the case, Zaniolo is likely to escape with a fine. If he is found to have bet on football, though, he would be suspended for an even longer period of time than Tonali.

It is not yet known when a ruling on that particular case will be made - Zaniolo was cleared to link up with Italy for the November internationals - but what is clear is that the investigation is ongoing and that more players could soon be implicated.

Indeed, according to Agenzia Italia, Milan full-back Alessandro Florenzi is facing similar charges to Zaniolo and expected to give his deposition in Turin in the coming days. The fear is, then, that even more Serie A stars will be implicated in what some Italian media outlets are now calling 'Scommessopoli' in the coming days and weeks...