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Not our problem

The man who sold Ivan Toney to Brentford has insisted it’s always the buying club’s responsibility to do proper due diligence on a player they’re signing.

Amidst the Sandro Tonali betting scandal, there has been the suggestion Newcastle should be due compensation from AC Milan now that the Magpies will be without the £55million summer signing for the rest of the season just months after his arrival.

But even if AC Milan knew about his gambling issues and looming sanction, the Italian side were under no obligation to let Newcastle know about it if the Premier League club didn’t ask.

That’s according to Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony, who insists he had no idea about Toney’s gambling issues when he was sold to Brentford.

But even if he did, he wouldn’t have told a buying club about any personal issues with a player unless they’re asked directly.

“If it’s not in the contract, they’ll have to pay,” MacAnthony told talkSPORT. “Unless there’s wording in the contract stating about due diligence, where Newcastle maybe should have had to do due diligence in regards to the player and other things.”

Asked if he would have sold Toney to Brentford had he known about the striker’s betting activity, the Posh chief said: “Of course.”

Asked if he would have told Brentford about it, had he known, he said: “Not if they didn’t ask. It’s not my job to tell Brentford about the player’s character.

“Listen, if I’d known Ivan Tony had a gambling addiction… and of course I didn’t know. Jesus, are you joking me? If I’d known, I’ve been on the show before talking about this, we’ve had players with issues and we’ve given them help. And if I’d known he had an issue, I would have stood him down and helped him with an issue, and I would have sat with his dad, his family and him and had an intervention. If I knew it was that serious and he had an issue.

“But there’s only so much I can do. We’ll contact the Players’ Association, we’ll bring them in. We’ve done it with players before… but what else can I do?

“I didn’t know about Ivan but of course if [Brentford] asked us the question, of course we would tell them and give them an answer. But at the end of the day, when you sell a player to a club, it’s up to the club to do its due diligence on a player’s character, issues, off-field stuff.”

Asked if he felt a buying club would be due compensation over a situation like Tonali’s or Toney’s, he added: “No. I’d say the player passed the medical. When you do a sale or you sell a player, you take a player, good or bad, if they’ve got issues off the field. It’s up to you to do your due diligence.

“I would own the fact that we did the deal. I wouldn’t go back to the previous club. I might moan. I might ring their chief executive and call them all the names under the sun and whatever. But I wouldn’t ask for money back because it’s on us to do our research on the player equally.”