Sandro Tonali: AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli says he was unaware regarding Tonali’s betting massacre
AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli has expressed his opinions involving his former Rossoneri apprentice Sandro Tonali, who is currently playing at Newcastle United, but is facing a ban from football owing to a betting scandal which have barred him from entering football premises. Pioli mentioned that he was unaware of these proceedings which led to Tonali’s ban.
Sandro Tonali- A dark history in Italian football
Sandro Tonali has been one of the rising stars among the ranks of Italian football. Considered to be one of the talents who have documented his meteoric rise through the academy ranks in Brescia, had his breakthrough at one of the legendary clubs in Italy, AC Milan, a club which has had some of the biggest names in football- with its historic status of names encompassing Andrea Pirlo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao.
Generally being fielded as a defensive midfielder who looks to swoon over fans and critics alike with this blitzkrieg skills, Tonali left the Rossoneris to join English Premier League side Newcastle United this season. But, his meteoric rise hit a dead-end when he was summoned on court, owing to gambling issues and breaching of FIFA’s betting rules, with football’s governing body inflicting on him a rusty punishment of ten-month ban.
Although the verdict had caused quite a stir at the football sector, Tonali’s new club AC Milan have found themselves in a losing position after his loss. The Magpies, who were making their return to UEFA Champions League after a two-decade long hiatus, are placed in the Group of Death in Europe’s elite competition.
They were grouped alongside Tonali’s former club AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and PSG, and are currently fighting out with the rest to grab a historic spot at the Round of 16, as Toons’ manager Eddie Howe would have hoped to get Tonali who will help them with battles against his old club AC Milam, but it was not the case as he was slapped with a humongous ban for the entire season.
Pioli’s opinion about Tonali
Stefano Piolo, Milan headmaster was presented with several questions related to Tonali in Press Conference ahead of their crunch fixture against the Magpies, in a game which has lot at stake. He was heard speaking about his favored apprentice when asked, “I think the moment they bought a player like him, Newcastle made a deal, then no one could have predicted what happened.”
He continued, “There are no doubts about his footballing qualities. Newcastle have certainly signed an excellent player.” He was drawn to speak about his personal relationship with Tonali, thus assuring their “close” relationship.
He said, “I’m very close to him, he was a boy with us very positive and very important for the growth of the team. Unfortunately he fell into something delicate. We are close to him and I hope that this experience can help him do better in the future.”
When asked whether he had any intimation about this ‘wrongdoings’ of Tonali, Pioli concluded, “Absolutely not. I think I have a fairly open relationship with the players, I try to talk to them about many things but we don’t really know what they do.”
Newcastle lock horns with AC Milan, as on the other hand, PSG would be facing Borussia Dortmund, eyeing a Round of 16 spot, whose draw would be held within the next few days.
