The Sandro Tonali case has dominated the football headlines over the past couple of weeks, and that appears as if it will continue as Newcastle apparently explore their legal options regarding whether the player has brought the club into disrepute.
Though it’s believed that the Magpies are supporting the Italian who has agreed a 10-month ban from football over illegal betting issues, there remains potential recourse available to them which would included slashing the players wages.
“There is currently no public knowledge on the agreement in this particular case, but a transfer normally contains a basic structure which includes warranties from the selling club,” Stephen Taylor Heath, co-head of sports law at JMW Solicitors, said (per The Telegraph, subscription required).
“These warranties could include representations that the selling team is not aware that the player is subject to any investigations of a criminal or disciplinary nature at the time of a transaction.
“If Newcastle United did believe they had a case and were to take any form of action, the transfer agreement may provide a jurisdiction and forum for the dispute to be determined.
“The Premier League’s standard contract also contains certain obligations of a player, including the need to abide by the applicable rules and not to bring a club into disrepute,” he added.
Whilst any legal action from Newcastle would clearly be regrettable, looking to claw back some of the £155,000 per week (Capology) that Tonali will earn over the period he’s sidelined is understandable.
As is looking into whether AC Milan knew of any issues with Tonali before selling him to the Magpies.
In the short space of time that the 23-year-old has been at St. James’ Park, he’s already become a team and fan favourite.
At the end of a recent Premier League game whilst doing a lap of honour, Tonali was pushed to the front by his team-mates in order that he could take the acclaim of the Toon Army before his ban was made official.