The Football Association has charged Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali with 50 alleged gambling offences relating to bets the Italy midfielder placed after swapping Milan for Tyneside in a £55m transfer last July.
Tonali is partway through a 10-month worldwide suspension imposed by Italy’s football federation after being found guilty of betting on matches featuring Milan and his previous club, Brescia, but Newcastle are understood to be quietly confident he will not face any further, extended sanction.
Instead it is believed that any punishment imposed by England’s FA would almost certainly run concurrently and retrospectively alongside the existing Italian ban.
While nothing is guaranteed it is thought likely the FA will rule that Tonali has already been deprived of playing football for long enough and decide to treat the latest batch of alleged offences as an extension of a single period of betting, already dealt with by Italy’s governing body.
The 23-year-old has admitted to being a gambling addict and continues to undergo rehabilitation while he serves the 10-month ban due to expire on 27 August. Until now, Tonali has continued to train with the rest of Eddie Howe’s first-team squad at Newcastle, while also taking part in friendlies behind closed doors, and this is expected to continue. The latest batch of alleged offences are understood to have taken place between 12 August and 12 October last year and all date before the midfielder’s suspension was imposed on 26 October.
Ivan Toney, the England and Brentford striker received an eight-month ban for 232 breaches of the FA’s gambling regulations last year before returning to competitive action in January.
Tonali has until 5 April to respond to the FA. In a statement issued on Thursday Newcastle said: “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.”
Back in November Newcastle’s now outgoing sporting director, the Manchester United bound Dan Ashworth, emphasised that Tonali was suffering from “an illness” and said: “The FA are, of course, fully aware of what’s going on. They are the ones who had to sanction the Italian ban so we’re fully cooperating with everybody.”
Ashworth, currently on gardening leave at St James’ Park, said that news of Tonali’s ban came as a “massive shock” but added: “Our first port of call is to look after him and support him.”
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Howe could legitimately argue that Newcastle’s season has been derailed by the imposition of Tonali’s ban at a time when the marquee summer signing had made just 12 appearances in all competitions but has continued to offer him unstinting support. “The most important thing is Sandro and his welfare,” Newcastle’s manager said recently. “It’s very easy for people to forget how young he is. Footballers are human beings.”
Given football’s symbiotic relationship with a betting industry heavily involved in team sponsorships there is some debate as to whether banning footballers who succumb to gambling addictions is the correct course of action.
The former England and Arsenal forward Paul Merson has said he was a “compulsive gambler” during his player career and describes Tonali’s punishment as a “disgrace.” Merson said: “They need help and I don’t think that help is giving them a 10-month ban.”