PA Media/dpa
London
Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has been handed a suspended two-month ban and fined £20,000 ($25,000) after admitting betting thousands on matches in which he was involved.
An independent regulatory commission found he had wagered “well in excess of 100,000 euros” on 50 bets, with 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.
Tonali, a close-season 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.
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.” 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.
