Newcastle’s £60m signing Sandro Tonali faces year-long ban from football for violating gambling rules

Newcastle United midfielder Tonali || Credit: Imago

Newcastle’s £60m signing Sandro Tonali faces year-long ban from football for violating gambling rules

Mark Kinyanjui 14:00 - 18.10.2023

The 23-year-old is cooperating with the authorities in a bid for a plea agreement after Italy teammate Nicolo Fagioli received a seven-month ban.

Newcastle United’s stellar summer signing Sandro Tonali could receive a ban of up to a year after admitting to prosecutors heading up an ongoing investigation into illegal gambling that he placed bets on football.

This is according to numerous reports in Italy, who claim that the former AC Milan midfielder is one of three players that have been named in the investigation, including Aston Villa's Nicolo Zaniolo and Nicolo Fagioli of Juventus. 

Fagioli became the first player to speak directly to prosecutors and work with the investigation after news broke last week, and on Tuesday, the 22-year-old was handed a seven-month ban from football. 

The player's ban is a significant reduction from the usual minimum sanction of three years after the player admitted his guilt and confessed to a gambling addiction. 

On Tuesday, Tonali's agent confirmed that the 23-year-old was also fighting a gambling problem and that the midfielder is cooperating with the authorities. 

According to Gazetta dello Sport, Tonali could face a longer ban than Fagioli should it emerge that he had placed bets on his former side AC Milan - which could constitute an act of sporting misconduct under the country's Sports Justice Code. 

The midfielder is now believed to have met with prosecutor Giuseppe Chine - who spoke with Fagioli over the weekend - twice, with the second meeting taking place on Tuesday. 

Tonali’s move to Newcastle means that he would not be personally involved in the outcome,  but if he did gamble on his former club Milan, it could aggravate the potent sanction he could receive 

If he co-orperates Tonali could see any potential ban halved under a plea agreement, but matters could be complicated if there are any discrepancies between what Tonali has told prosecutors and anything found on the player's phones or devices. 

Zaniolo, Tonali, and Fagioli had their electronics confiscated as part of the investigation on Thursday, which also saw the Italian national team's training camp raided by the authorities as they sought to interview Zaniolo and Tonali. 

Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti called the raid 'traumatic' and described his players as 'absolutely distraught' by the investigation. 

Along with a potential sanction, Tonali might also expect additional prescribed measures, as have been handed to Fagioli, including therapy for a gambling addiction, and meetings with young players to discuss the consequences of illegal betting in football. 

Italy has strict laws that ban athletes from gambling in any sporting discipline they are involved in.