Sandro Tonali could well wait longer than expected before returning to football. The Newcastle midfielder is currently serving a ten-month ban for betting on matches while playing in Italy.
The 23-year-old player is now accused by the English Federation (FA) of the same misdeed, as it revealed this Thursday.
“Sandro Tonali is accused of misconduct due to alleged breaches of FA betting rules,” the British institution said in a statement. The Newcastle midfielder allegedly broke Rule E8 50 times by placing money on football matches between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023.
pic.twitter.com/0LF57qP8rs
— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) March 28, 2024
Still according to the press release, Sandro Tonali now has until April 5 to respond to these accusations. He was sanctioned on October 26 by the Italian Federation with ten months of suspension and eight months of probation. The Transalpine had notably bet on meetings of its two former teams: Brescia (2017-2020) and AC Milan (2020-2023).
The Italian midfielder pleaded guilty and his cooperation during the investigation was taken into account. In addition to his sentence, he was required to attend treatment sessions in order to free himself from his addiction to sports betting.
Also read “Sports betting is like a drug”: the dangerous daily life of addicted players
Nicolò Fagioli, Juventus player, was also suspended last October, for the same reason as Sandro Tonali. The latter explained that he had started betting “out of boredom”. But he had generated debts, to the point of being threatened by illegal betting organizers.