A charity has called on professional footballers to take a stance against the gambling industry’s relationship with the game.
Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali and striker Nicolo Zaniolo, currently on loan at Aston Villa from Galatasaray, last week returned to their clubs from Italy’s training camp after it emerged they were under investigation by the Italian Prosecutor’s Office and Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in relation to illegal betting activity.
The pair are the latest in a series of players to find themselves the subject of allegations and The Big Step, a charity led by people harmed by gambling which is campaigning for an end to betting advertising and sponsorship in football, believes it is time for their team-mates to stand up and be counted.
A spokesperson told the PA news agency: “These moments can be seen as a tipping point and it does help show the ridiculous current situation of the relationship between gambling and football.
“But I think also it’s time for more and more footballers to take a stance against it because these are their colleagues, these are their peers, these are their friends that are being harmed.
“At what point will footballers say, ‘You know what? I’m not going to play with this gambling company on the front of my shirt, I’m not going to play in this stadium with thousands of adverts’.
“That’s what I think will really tip it next.”
Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was last week fined and given a seven-month ban with a further five months suspended by the FIGC for breaching betting rules, while England striker Ivan Toney was handed an eight-month suspension in May and Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo a suspended five-month ban last month.
Tonali, a £55million summer signing from AC Milan, has reportedly admitted betting on his former club to win and his agent Giuseppe Riso has revealed the 23-year-old is battling “gambling addiction” at a time when Newcastle have three betting partners – FUN88, BetMGM and Sportsbet.io.
The Big Step spokesperson added: “If you watch their (Newcastle’s) match on Saturday, you’ll see a constant rotating presence of these companies whilst one of their own employees – one of their key employees, their players – is going to be sitting there watching it, possibly even playing, trying to recover from this thing that is being advertised to him relentlessly.”
While gambling addiction is an issue in wider society and other sports, the charity believes it is particularly prevalent in football and has called for Government intervention to address it.
The spokesperson said: “It is important to recognise that footballers, they have a lot of money, they have a lot of spare time and they’re in this environment where there is a gambling culture, and that’s not just through the advertising, but also just through the association between the two things, gambling and sport.
“That’s why there need to be extra safeguards for footballers compared with others. It’s time Government stepped up.
“How many more players, how many more fans have to be harmed before Government really takes control of this situation and just resets this relationship for good?”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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