Sandro Tonali faces more sanctions as banned Newcastle star faces more betting charges
Newcastle have confirmed that Sandro Tonali has been charged with misconduct by the FA for allegedly breaching betting rules.
talkSPORT revealed in November The Italian was being investigated by the FA for crimes other than those committed in Italy that resulted in his ten month global ban.
tonala £55m signing from AC Milan last summer, is now accused of breaching betting rules 50 times between August 12 and October 12 following his move to St James' Park.
The midfielder is believed to be co-operating with the FA for fear of facing further sanctions.
Tonali has until Friday, April 5 to respond to the charge.
An FA statement said: “Sandro Tonali has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of FA betting rules.
“The Newcastle United midfielder is alleged to have breached FA Rule E8 50 times by placing bets on football matches between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023.”
Tonali made 12 appearances for Newcastle The last of these came in the 1-0 Champions League defeat against Borussia Dortmund on October 25.
His initial ban from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) was related to placing bets on matches he participated in during his time in Serie A.
It means Tonali was instantly sidelined for the remainder of the 2023/24 season and will also miss Euro 2024 with Italy.
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His long suspension was due to expire on August 27, 2024, but Newcastle must now wait to see if further punishment from the FA follows.
In a statement, the Magpies said: “Newcastle United acknowledge a charge of misconduct received by Sandro Tonali in respect of alleged breaches of the FA Betting Rules.
“Sandro continues to fully comply with the relevant investigations and has the full support of the club.
“Due to this ongoing process, Sandro and Newcastle United are unable to offer any further comment at this time.”
Tonali has been training with Newcastle during his suspension, and Eddie Howe recently claimed to have seen improvements in his game.
When asked about the Italy international last month, Toon manager Howe said: “We have spent time with him identifying areas of his game that we want to improve.
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“He has a lot of time to do that, so we've spent a lot of time with him doing it. That naturally engages your brain in what you're doing.
“If we hadn't done that and it was just random training for him that wasn't specialized, then he could potentially go off track mentally.
“I have to say that he has been very good at supporting his teammates and very good at making training sessions better for everyone. I have definitely seen an improvement in his game even though he is not playing.
“Sometimes it can be very difficult to improve your game without getting the match stimulus you need, but he has played in training matches and on bigger pitches.
“It's important that we do it for him so he doesn't suffer athletically.”
