After thriving at AC Milan for three seasons, a lot was expected from Sandro Tonali after his move to Newcastle United. However, the 23-year-old was banned from football for 10-months by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in October for breaking betting rules in Italy. It meant that the midfielder could make only 12 appearances for the Magpies before his ten-month ban came into play.
The ban was because Tonali placed bets on matches involving his teams Brescia and Milan but while it was localised to Italy, FIFA granted the FIGC’s request to extend the ban worldwide. It means that the Italian won’t be able to play until August 2024 and won’t feature at Euro 2024. However, things could get even worse for Tonali as the English FA has charged the him with 50 offences for alleged breaches of betting rules.
FA charge Sandro Tonali with misconduct for alleged breaches of betting rules
According to the BBC, Tonali has been charged for alleged breaches of betting rules as the FA has alleged that the 23-year-old broke rules by placing bets on matches. The FA has charged the midfielder for placing 50 bets on matches between 12th August and 12th October 2023. This comes after Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, had claimed that the midfielder suffers from a “gambling addiction”.
The same was said after the FIGC handed Tonali his ban as he was also fined 20,000 euros and his ban was reduced to ten months after he agreed to take part in an eight-month therapeutic plan to help aid his recovery from a gambling addiction. The FA has given the Italian until April 5th to respond to the charges and Newcastle United have released a statement acknowledging the charges.
“Newcastle United acknowledges a misconduct charge received by Sandro Tonali in respect of alleged breaches of FA Betting Rules. Sandro continues to fully comply with relevant investigations and he retains the club’s full support,” read the club’s statement.
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