Ton ali charged with 50 betting of fences while at Newcastle
Sandro Tonali has been charged with breaking betting rules for a second time after being accused of gambling 50 times on matches since joining Newcastle United.
The Italy midfielder was suspended for 10 months on October 26 and ordered to undergo an eight-month rehabilitation programme for contravening similar regulations in his homeland before his £53m move to St James’ Park last summer.
That saw the Football Association( FA) launch an investigation into whether he had also bet on matches between joining Newcastle and his suspension being imposed, something it has now charged him with doing.
The FA said in a statement: “Sandro Tonali has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of the FA’s betting rules. It’s alleged that the Newcastle United midfielder breached FA rule E8 fifty times by placing bets on football matches between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023. Sandro Tonali has until April 5, 2024 to respond.”
Newcastle said: “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.”
It is understood Tonali (left) passed on all the relevant details about his betting addiction to the club while he was being investigated by Italian authorities, which went on to ban him until August this year, which was prior to the FA investigation. The FA may well decide that Tonali has been punished enough, with the player’s agent revealing in October that his client had been suffering with gambling addiction.
That was after Tonali admitted betting on games involving both of his two former clubs, Brescia and AC Milan, before striking a plea deal that avoided a three-year suspension.
Tonali was allowed to continue training with Newcastle, despite being unable to play in any games (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd, 2024)