Football is an immensely popular sport with a large audience. As the sport has grown, so has the money involved in it. Last summer, Sandro Tonali transferred to English club Newcastle United. However, shortly after his transfer, the 23-year-old Italian was found to have breached rules on gambling, which led to his 10-month suspension from professional football.
Despite the ongoing suspension, Tonali has reportedly been charged by the Football Association (FA) with an additional 50 gambling offences during his first season in the English Premier League.
Sandro Tonali faces potential additional punishment
It has been confirmed that the Italian Football Federation has imposed a ban on Tonali, which is currently ongoing and is expected to last for a few more months. However, it has emerged that the Football Association (FA) has accused him of misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of the FA’s Betting Rules.
Tonali has allegedly breached FA Rule E8 50 times by placing bets on football matches between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023. Despite this, Newcastle is hopeful that any additional penalty imposed on the Italian will be served concurrently with the current ban. The official statement regarding Tonali’s misconduct has been released and can be found below:
— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) March 28, 2024
Newcastle United FC has expressed its support for the player in response to the recently imposed charges. The club has offered to fully cooperate with the upcoming FA procedures. Despite the chaos, Tonali has been training extremely well with Eddie Howe’s team and is a key player for the club.
Newcastle United acknowledges a misconduct charge received by Sandro Tonali in respect of alleged breaches of FA Betting Rules.
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) March 28, 2024
Sandro continues to fully comply with relevant investigations and he retains the club's full support.
Due to this ongoing process, Sandro and… pic.twitter.com/x62qU4hx5A
When will Sandro Tonali’s ban end?
There are several speculations regarding the length of the ban imposed on Sandro Tonali. Some believe that it may last for only 2 to 3 months and will be concurrent with the current ban.
However, the Football Association (FA) has not made any official statement regarding the duration of the ban yet. At the moment, Sandro Tonali has been asked to respond to the charges filed against him before April 5, 2024.
🚨 🇮🇹 #NUFC are NOT expecting Sandro Tonali to face a longer ban or be prevented from training, after new @FA charges outcome is finalised.
— 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘆𝗻𝗲 #NUFC (@ToonMouthTyne) March 28, 2024
Punishment likely to be CONCURRENT with his existing 10 month ban which ends in August.
Via @LukeEdwardsTele pic.twitter.com/cgPGj6jS5D
Even though he knew that he could be suspended for betting on his matches in Italy, he still came to Newcastle to repeat his wrongdoings. Tonali has even acknowledged that he has a gambling addiction and is currently undergoing rehabilitation for it.
Despite all of his misconduct, Tonali is still regarded as one of the most talented midfielders in Europe, especially at such a young age. Hopefully, this punishment will serve as a deterrent to prevent the Italian midfielder from committing such misdeeds in the future.
