There are fresh fears surrounding Sandro Tonali after the Newcastle United midfielder was charged by the FA for breaching its betting rules.
The Italy international has been banned since October, after being investigated by the Italian Football Federation for betting. He was suspended by FIFA for 10 months, which means he will miss Euro 2024 and not play for Newcastle United again until the early stages of next season.
It has been a massive blow to the Magpies’ season, as Sandro Tonali was Eddie Howe‘s marquee signing. He cost £55million, which made him the club’s second most expensive signing ever.
The only saving grace has been that Tonali has continued to train with the Newcastle first-team, as per the terms agreed in his ban.
But now the 23-year-old has been hit with a fresh charge, in relation to bets placed during his time as a Newcastle United player.
The latest betting charge against Sandro Tonali
The FA announced on Thursday afternoon that Tonali has been charged with misconduct for allegedly breaching their rules regarding betting.
Their charge alleges that Tonali breached the rules on 50 occasions between August 12th 2023 and October 12th 2023. The statement from the FA added that Tonali has until April 5th to respond.
Newcastle United have already commented on the FA’s charge. They wrote on their official website: “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. Due to this ongoing process, Sandro and Newcastle United are unable to offer further comment at this time.”
How Newcastle United feel about Sandro Tonali’s FA charge
The investigation from the FA has come after the Italian Football Federation’s. It has been hanging over Tonali’s head for a while, but now he has finally been charged.
It has led to fears that he could be banned for an even longer period of time, which would be devastating for both the player and the club.
However, the early suggestions are that he will not receive a further ban.
That is according to the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, who wrote on X: “#nufc are not expecting Sandro Tonali to face a longer ban or be prevented from training after he was charged by English FA for gambling on games while registered as a player at Newcastle. Tonali had already admitted this and relevant info given to the FA in the autumn. Punishment likely to be concurrent with his existing 10 month ban which ends in August.”
Edwards then added: “Football Association are understood to consider this all as one period of betting (Italy and England) which he has already been punished for with a 10 month worldwide ban.”
Positive news for Newcastle United
It is positive to hear that Tonali is unlikely to receive an even longer ban. That would be incredibly harsh, considering he has basically missed a full season of his career already.
Hopefully we get official confirmation on this soon, once he responds to this charge from the FA. But the early signs are good – or at least they are not bad. We are still going to be without him for the rest of the season, after all.
But it appears that everything is still in place for him to return early next season, when Tonali will be keen to make up for lost time. He has been excellent in training, while he can also speak English now. That is a big bonus, given how much the language barrier hindered him when he first arrived.
It will have been an incredibly challenging few months for Tonali, but it at least looks like his comeback plans will not be derailed.
The post Whether Newcastle feel Sandro Tonali’s ban could be extended after FA charge - journalist appeared first on Geordie Boot Boys.
