Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali charged by the FA with breaching betting rules

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has been charged by the FA with alleged breaches of betting rules, as an official statement from England's FA confirmed on Thursday. The Italian player, who was already banned for ten months for betting offences while playing in Italy with AC Milan, has now been charged by FA with 50 offences for placing bets earlier this season. He has until April 5 to respond to the charges.

Newcastle issued a statement following the announcement of the charges.

"Newcastle United acknowledges a misconduct charge received by Sandro Tonali in respect of alleged breaches of FA Betting Rules. Sandro continues to fully comply with relevant investigations and he retains the club's full support. Due to this ongoing process, Sandro and Newcastle United are unable to offer further comment at this time." 

As per The Telegraph, the English side are not expecting Tonali "to face a longer ban or be prevented from training after he was charged by English FA for gambling on Games while registered as a player at Newcastle."

Earlier this season, Tonali was suspended for ten months following gambling breaches stemming from his time in Serie A when he admitted he placed bets on soccer games. On top of that, he's currently undergoing a rehab program for eight months following the suspension in which the players will have to participate in 16 public meetings on the gambling issue. The Italian midfielder, who moved from AC Milan to Newcastle in the summer 2023 for €70 million plus €5 million in add-ons, will miss the rest of the 2023-24 season with Newcastle and will also miss the UEFA Euro 2024 with Italy as, for now, he's due to be back in August 2024.