FA charges Tonali over alleged betting rules breaches
In free language: Sandro Tonali has become the second most costly player to sign for Newcastle. Rewritten: Newcastle has made Sandro Tonali their second most pricy acquisition.
Sandro Tonali, who plays as a midfielder for Newcastle United, has been accused by the Football Association of misconduct for possible violations of betting regulations.
The young athlete, aged 23, is presently enduring a 10-month suspension given by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in October as a result of violating wagering regulations in Italy.
In July, Tonali made his transfer from AC Milan to Newcastle for a whopping £55 million.
According to the FA, Tonali is accused of violating their regulations by betting on 50 matchups from August 12 to October 12, 2023.
The FIGC disallowed Tonali from gambling on games that included his clubs Brescia and Milan. Also, Fifa granted the ban to expand universally as requested by the Italian federation.
The charges against Tonali by the FA are connected to different accusations that occurred when he was playing for Newcastle.
On Thursday, Newcastle United made a statement confirming that Sandro Tonali has been charged with misconduct. The charge relates to apparent violations of the FA Betting Rules.
Sandro is still cooperating completely with any investigations that are relevant, and the club is still giving him their complete backing.
At present, Tonali is prohibited from playing until August which results in his ineligibility to participate in Euro 2024.
The football player from Italy received a fine of 20,000 euros (£17,380) and was initially banned from the sport for 18 months. However, the length of the ban was reduced when he agreed to participate in an eight-month program that focuses on helping him recover from his gambling addiction.
This means that Tonali will have to attend a minimum of 16 events in Italy, where he will be asked to talk to young athletes about the risks of gambling.
Tonali is not allowed to participate in any games, but he can practice with his fellow players at Newcastle while serving his suspension.
Tonali, who needs to give a response to the charges made by the FA before or on 5th of April, had just played in 12 games for Eddie Howe's team before he was banned.
In the previous year, Ivan Toney, a striker for Brentford football team, received a punishment of eight months due to breaking the FA's betting regulations for 232 times. He came back to the field in January.
Paul Merson, who is a retired England football player and Arsenal midfielder, labeled the suspensions of Tonali and Toney as being shameful. Merson disclosed that he struggled with a persistent gambling problem during his career.
The quote suggests that it is not helpful to simply issue 10-month bans to those struggling with addiction in football, especially given the high level of sponsorship involved. The individual believes that it is important to provide actual assistance to those facing these issues instead of simply punishing them.
