Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali handed 10-month ban for illegal betting

The president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has confirmed that Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali will be banned from football for 10 months for breaching betting rules, after negotiating a plea bargain with Italian prosecutors.

The 23-year-old is also required to attend treatment sessions for his gambling problems and make himself available for a series of talks about his experience over a further eight-month period as part of an agreement with the FIGC.

In addition, Tonali will be fined €20,000 (£17,438), but the midfielder is free to train with Newcastle and represent the club in friendlies.

Tonali attended a court hearing in Turin last week where he admitted to betting on football games, both in which he played and did not play, for his former club AC Milan to win during his time at the Serie A side, and his agent Giuseppe Riso later revealed that the player is battling with a gambling addiction

Tonali was at risk of a three-year suspension from football without cooperation in the investigation under FIFA regulations, but Italian FA chief Gabriele Gravina has praised the midfielder for ‘collaborating beyond belief’ in the process.

“An agreement has already been reached between the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and Sandro Tonali, which occurred before the referral, therefore it must be endorsed by the undersigned, which I have already done,” Gravina told reporters.

“A plea bargain is envisaged for 18 months of which eight months is activity recovery, some concerns therapeutic activity and at least 16 face-to-face meetings as testimony.

“A plea bargain is foreseen, mitigating circumstances are foreseen, the boys collaborated beyond belief, so we continue to respect the rules we have set for ourselves.”

“We can’t just think about punishing the boys and not helping them recover,” Gravina added. “I think it’s worth a lot more, rather than a month ban, eight months of giving talks about what they went through, in an honest way and with the right behaviour.”

Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan in July for a reported £55m, a record transfer for an Italian player, and he has made a total of 12 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring on his Premier League debut in a 5-1 win over Aston Villa in August.

The midfielder made substitute appearances in last weekend’s 4-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace and Wednesday night’s 1-0 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund as he awaited the verdict of the investigation.

However, Tonali will play no further part in the 2023-24 campaign for Newcastle, and he cannot represent Italy should they qualify for Euro 2024 – which will take place in Germany between June 14 and July 14 – as his ban stretches to August of next year.

Last Friday, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe vowed that he and the club will offer their full support to Tonali and his family, telling reporters: “The most important part of this whole incident is Sandro and his welfare.

“It’s very easy for people to forget how young he is and the changes he’s had in his life coming from Italy to England. That’s hard enough to deal with and now he has this situation.

“We feel as a football club, straight away, it was throw our arms around him and protect him, give him the love and support that he needs to find solutions to the problems he’s had. That’s what we endeavour to do. We’ve had a lot of conversations, a lot of communication with him and his family.

“It’s not just Sandro it’s the people who are important to him as well. It’s been a big effort from us and he’s handled himself superbly well. He’s been obviously emotional but has handled himself with respect and dignity.”

The announcement of Tonali’s lengthy suspension comes just over a week after Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was handed a seven-month ban from football and fined €12,500 for illegal betting activity.

Aston Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo – on loan from Galatasaray – is the next high-profile Italian player to be investigated for alleged illegal betting activity by Italian prosecutors, with the midfielder set to attend a court hearing in Turin on Friday.