Sandro Tonali charged with multiple betting allegations

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has been charged by the English Football Association (FA) for allegedly breaking betting regulations 50 times in several matches last year. The 23-year-old midfielder has been suspended from football since October 27 due to a separate betting ban from the Italian Football Association (FIGC) and now faces the latest charges.

According to the FA's statement, the Italian midfielder violated (FA regulation E8) 50 times by placing bets on football matches between 12 August 2023 and 12 October 2023. Tonali, considered one of the best football prospects in Italy, joined Newcastle from AC Milan last July for a fee of £55 million. In response to the FA's findings, Newcastle said in a separate statement: "Newcastle United acknowledges the allegations of misconduct received by Sandro Tonali about alleged breaches of the FA Betting Rules.

"Sandro continues to fully comply with the relevant investigations and he has the full support of the club. "Due to this ongoing process, Sandro and The Magpies are unable to provide any further comment at this time." The FA has given Tonali until April 5 local time to respond to the allegations. However, the FA refused to comment on whether the new sanctions could run alongside Tonali's ongoing ban. Tonali's ban from the FIGC currently runs until 27 August 2024. The 23-year-old joined Newcastle in July 2023 but made just 12 appearances in all competitions before his suspension from football.

Tonali started his professional career with Brescia before joining Milan, initially on loan, making 95 appearances in three seasons and helping lead the Rossoneri to the Scudetto. His ban further indicates that Tonali is ineligible to play again until August and will certainly not appear at Euro 2024. The former Brescia player, who was fined €20K, was initially given a 1.6-year ban, which was later reduced after he agreed to take part in an eight-month rehabilitation program to help recover from gambling addiction. Tonali is not the only Premier League player to miss a large part of the season due to betting on matches. In January, Brentford forward Ivan Toney returned from an eight-month ban after admitting 232 breaches of the FA's betting rules.