AC Milan have insisted they knew nothing about Sandro Tonali’s gambling addiction during his time at the San Siro.
Milan chiefs released in a statement after Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth faced questions from journalists over Tonali’s 10-month FIFA ban. Ashworth said on Friday that United’s first awareness of Tonali’s betting issues came via social media and five months into his stint on Tyneside.
Newcastle or Dan Ashworth could confirm whether the club will pursue legal action against the Serie A giants. But a statement from Milan was released yesterday to UK media reading: “We first learnt about Tonali’s addiction through media reports and what we know is only what we read. We don’t know anything else.”
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When asked by Chronicle Live if the statement reflected Milan’s top brass the Italian club confirmed: “Yes this is our position.” Just hours after Ashworth’s wide-ranging interview, the English FA also confirmed that they would be conducting their own investigation on the midfielder.
Ashworth had said: “We first became aware of it when was there a potential allegation on social media. I spoke with his representatives and it just happened really quickly.
“The Italian federation went to speak to Sandro. Within the next 48 hours everything went quickly and there was a potential he could get charged.”
When asked if Milan should or could have told Newcastle about Tonali’s problems, Ashworth said: “It’s really difficult for me to get into what other clubs do or don’t know. All we can do is look at our own internal investigation and internal process. It’s a really difficult question for me to answer, I just don’t know.”
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