Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali will be banned from football for 10 months over a betting scandal, the president of Italy’s football association has said.
The 23-year-old only signed for Newcastle from AC Milan this summer. The Geordies paid the Italian club a fee in the region of £55m for his services.
As well as the ban, Tonali must also attend treatment sessions for problem gamblers and give a series of talks about his experience over a further eight-month period as part of an agreement with the Italian football federation.
The ban is also expected to apply to international football with Italy.
The plea-bargain agreement, confirmed by the Italian football federation’s President Gabriele Gravina, will rule Tonali out for the remainder of Newcastle’s season and next summer’s Euro 2024 tournament should he be banned from international games.
The midfielder came off the bench for Eddie Howe’s team during their 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League at St James’s Park last night.
Mr Gravina said: “We can’t just think about punishing the boys and not helping them recover.
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“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.”
The full sentence is an 18 month suspension, with eight of those commutable on the condition he attends treatment and gives talks.
Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, admitted earlier this month that the player is fighting a gambling addiction.
He said: “Sandro suffers gambling addiction. He’s fighting to avoid that and I’m sure he will win this difficult game.
“He is in shock, he is shaken and sad. I hope that this experience saves his life and that of many others, that it helps those who fall into the same habit as him.”
Mr Riso also said that Tonali told prosecutors he bet on AC Milan and Brescia when he played for those clubs.
Tonali’s ban comes during an investigation into the use of illegal betting platforms by football players in Italy.
Nicolo Fagioli, Juventus midfielder and Tonali’s international teammate, has accepted a seven-month ban as part of a settlement with the FIGC after admitting to gambling problems.
Aston Villa’s Nicolò Zaniolo is also being investigated by Turin prosecutors, who are probing soccer players using illegal websites to bet on games.
On 18 October, Newcastle said it is offering Tonali its “full support”. Club manager Eddie Howe said Tonali is in “pain and distress”, and promised to throw “arms around Sandro and protect him”
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