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Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has been handed a suspended two-month ban and fined £20,000 after admitting betting thousands of pounds on matches in which he was involved.
An independent regulatory commission found he had wagered “well in excess of 100,000 euros” – or £85,636 – on 50 bets, none exceeding 10,000 euros (£8,560) and four of them on the Magpies to win games in which he was part of the squad.
The suspended ban will apply throughout the 2024-25 season and the 23-year-old Italy international, who admitted 50 breaches of Football Association Rule E8, has also been issued with a warning as to his future conduct.
An FA statement said: “An independent regulatory commission has sanctioned Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali for misconduct in relation to the FA’s betting rules.
“The FA charged the midfielder with 50 breaches of FA Rule E8 for placing bets on football matches between August 12 2023 and October 12 2023, and he admitted to this.
“The independent regulatory commission imposed a two-month suspension from all football and football-related activity, which is suspended until the end of the 2024-25 season pending any further breaches of the FA’s betting rules, as well as a £20,000 fine and warning.”
Tonali, a £55million summer signing from AC Milan, is currently serving a 10-month worldwide ban for similar breaches imposed by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in October last year.
In its written reasons, the commission rejected calls for a non-sporting sanction on the grounds that under FA guidelines, had those offences been committed in England, the sanction would not have exceeded six months and he has already served five.
It was also revealed the player, who it was claimed had not fully understood the FA training he had received shortly after his arrival at Newcastle because of his poor command of English at the time, had voluntarily taken a substantial cut in wages in the wake of the original suspension.
While acknowledging Tonali’s co-operation – he referred himself to the FA – the commission ruled that a sporting punishment was appropriate, but opted to suspend it as well as imposing a fine.
In its conclusions, it said: “The monetary value of the bets is estimated by Tonali to be up to 10,000 euros per bet, albeit he is unable to further quantify the precise amounts that he bet.
“Over about 50 bets, the commission concluded that the amount of money that was placed on these bets by Tonali must necessarily be a very significant sum well in excess of 100,000 euros and certainly a six-figure sum. This is a significant aggravating factor.”
The decision means Tonali, who had made just 12 appearances for the Magpies when the original suspension was imposed, will be free to play again on August 27, and that will come as a relief to head coach Eddie Howe, who saw his acquisition ahead of a first Champions League campaign in two decades as a coup.
Newcastle, who vowed to do all they could to help the player after his agent Giuseppe Riso revealed he had a “gambling addiction”, said in a statement: “Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
“As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission’s written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully co-operating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club’s full support and will continue to train with his team-mates
Newcastle statement
“Sandro made full admissions as to his betting activity, and did so in circumstances where there was no other evidence to support misconduct proceedings.
“Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club’s full support and will continue to train with his team-mates.”