This is another hard blow for Sandro Tonali and Newcastle. This Thursday, the English Federation (FA) threw a wrench into the water by officially announcing that the Italian midfielder Magpies would be involved in a new sports betting affair. “Sandro Tonali has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of FA betting rules. The Newcastle United midfielder allegedly broke FA Rule E8 50 times by placing bets on football matches between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023. Sandro Tonali has until April 5, 2024 to respond. »
As a reminder, the former AC Milan resident is currently serving a ten-month suspension imposed in October 2023 by the Italian federation (FIGC), still in the context of a sports betting affair. Before being caught by the transalpine patrol and shortly after his arrival in England (against €70 million), Tonali would have once again given in to his “crush”, so to speak. Now the question is what the 23-year-old risks.
Newcastle cross their fingers
Currently, two scenarios are emerging in the columns of the Times and some Gazzetta dello Sport. Clearly, either the FA decides to extend the midfielder's suspension period (his current suspension runs until August 27, editor's note), or it decides to impose a sanction which will be served simultaneously with the one already in force. A choice which will be made by an independent commission from the FA, specifies the Times. So this is where everything will play out. However, it should be remembered that the heaviest suspension imposed on a player convicted of sports betting offenses was that served by Brentford striker Ivan Toney, who was convicted of 263 offenses and suspended for eight months.
With a ten-month sentence, Tonali has already been well served. And among the Toons, we also hope that the betting dates mentioned by the FA (which demonstrate that Tonali did not play again after the announcement of the FIGC sanction) will work in their favor. THE Daily Mail we learn that Newcastle expects the FA to consider that these new allegations occurred during a single period of betting activity (including the offenses in Italy). Which would support the hypothesis of a sanction served at the same time as the current suspension.
