Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has been charged with breaching English soccer’s betting rules, the Football Association said on Thursday. Tonali is serving a 10-month ban issued by the Italian soccer federation for betting on teams he played for, which has ruled him out of action since October.
Now he could be in more trouble after the FA said he breached its rules on 50 occasions by placing bets on matches from Aug. 12 to Oct. 12 last year.
On Oct. 12, Tonali was sent home from Italy’s training camp after being notified by police of his involvement in a betting investigation.
The 23-year-old Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan last July for a fee reportedly worth up to 60 million pounds ($76.3 million). But he made only 12 appearances for the Premier League club after being caught up in a wider betting investigation that saw Juventus midfielder Nicol² Fagioli banned for seven months.
Tonali told prosecutors he bet on Milan and Brescia when he played for those clubs. His agent, Giuseppe Riso, acknowledged his client had a gambling problem.
Tonali agreed to a plea bargain with the Italian federation that included therapy for a gambling addiction.
His ban runs ends on July 14. Newcastle said last year it would give Tonali and his family its full support. The FA said Tonali had until April 5 to respond to the charges.
