'You must be stupid!' - Newcastle star Sandro Tonali and Italy team-mate Nicolo Fagioli slammed for betting on football matches in extraordinary rant by Premier League legend Paolo Di Canio

Juventus midfielder Fagioli has been hit with a seven-month ban after being found guilty of breaching football gambling regulations in Italy, with Newcastle playmaker Tonali waiting to discover whether he will be hit with a similar punishment.

Tonali is facing the threat of being ruled out for up to a year after admitting to placing bets on his former clubs AC Milan and Brescia. His lawyers are currently in talks with the FIGC, with the 23-year-old expected to learn his fate shortly.

Ex-Premier League star Di Canio – who spent time with Juve, Milan and Napoli before heading to Britain – has ranted to Sky Sport Italia on the need for modern day players to be more aware of their actions: “There are a million things they could do. [Bet on] cats, dogs, hamsters. I am not suggesting anything. Of course, it would be better not to gamble at all. Did you bet on football? You must be empty. This is stupidity. You must be stupid. There are different plans. We are not talking about match-fixing here. Luckily this is not the case. There are different plans regarding gambling addiction too. So, what was the problem?”

Di Canio added on clubs having greater control of players in his day: “When I joined Juventus, I came from a tough [Rome] neighbourhood. I didn’t fear facing a club director. One day, during a training session, Morini told me: ‘President Boniperti wants to talk to you today.’ I was terrorized, really. They kept me waiting for three hours. I asked everyone why he wanted to talk to me. Nobody knew. When I entered the room, Boniperti asked: ‘Where were you last night?’ I replied: ‘I was out for dinner.’ He asked again: ‘When did you get home?’ and I answered: ‘10.30 pm.’ It was 10.30 and he said it was too late. I was very young so I think it was a preventive measure. Really, I was terrorized. I thought they would freeze me out of the team. I was asking myself: ‘What have I done?’ Now times have changed. I don’t want to attack club directors, they have central roles, they have many distractions, and they have much more relations than in the past. But that being said, certain things cannot be justified.”

Tonali only joined Newcastle for £55 million ($67m) in the summer transfer window and has made just 10 appearances for the Premier League outfit as he waits to discover whether any more will be taken in during the 2023-24 campaign.