With Premier League star Sandro Tonali reportedly facing a lengthy ban for betting on his own team to win games, Junaid Benjamin feels he should be applauded instead of being chastised.
During a hearing at the Italian Football Federation in Turin earlier this week, the Italy international and Newcastle United star admitted to doing just that while he was at Serie A giants AC Milan.
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Such an "offence" could see the player receive as much as a three-year ban from professional football.
It's utter madness if you ask me.
The reports first emerged after Tonali and Aston Villa's Nicolo Zaniolo were turned away from the country's training camp late last week as the team were preparing to take on Malta and then England in 2024 UEFA European Championship qualifying action.
This came after the pair, as well as Juventus' Nicolo Fagioli, were investigated by Turin prosecutors for alleged betting breaches.
Fagioli has been hit with a seven-month ban for betting on football after reporting himself.
The Italian Football Federation said in a statement that the player had had five months of a one-year ban suspended, and had agreed to undergo six months of therapy to address his gambling issues. He was also fined €12 500 (R249 000) "for violating Article 24 of the CGS that prohibits betting on football events organised by FIGC, UEFA and FIFA".
Now, why are footballers not allowed to place bets on their own teams?
Well, according to the Professional Footballers' Association in England, "offering or accepting bribes or gifts in exchange for influencing the result of a match is extremely serious. It is against FA rules and may be a criminal offence."
Yes, I acknowledge that there are fine lines when it comes to players betting on their own club's games. But I'm not saying let footballers have complete freedom when it comes to betting on their own matches.
My argument is that footballers should be able to bet on their team to win!
The question we have to ask ourselves is: If you're betting on your team to win, are you intentionally influencing the game in a way that you would have if you didn't place the bet in the first place?
As a footballer, your main priority is to win football matches. It would be a different scenario entirely if Tonali was betting on his team to lose. That could possibly motivate him to do things like pick up a yellow card, give away a penalty, or concede an own goal from a corner or a free-kick. That would be a means of influencing the outcome of the game for the player's own financial gain.
However, he bet on his team to WIN, which is what he gets paid to do anyway. What difference does it make if he makes a little extra purse on the side?
Additionally, it puts extra pressure on the player to perform well to ensure his team exits the stadium with a positive result. Also, how much faith must you have in your team to put your own money on them winning? Should the belief he has in himself, his teammates and his manager not be applauded?
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Put yourself in any manager's shoes and think about how you would feel if one of your best players put money down on your side winning their next fixture. You'd probably be over the moon knowing he's going to give it everything he has to make sure the team does well!
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