Will Sandro Tonali face extended ban? Everything we know after Newcastle bombshell

The Football Association (FA) dropped another bombshell about Newcastle’s record signing Sandro Tonali today (Thursday). Tonali is already serving a 10-month ban from football after being found to have breached Italian Football Federation (IFF) betting regulations while at Brescia and AC Milan. And the 23-year-old has now been charged by the English authorities for further alleged breaches between August 12 and October 12 last year.

Tonali had initially been due to be available again to Eddie Howe this August, in time for the majority of the 2024/25 campaign. That was due to eight months of his initial ban being suspended after he agreed to participate in a therapeutic plan to help others in their own recovery from gambling addiction.

But the latest developments threaten to scupper that comeback date. The FA have alleged that Tonali illegally placed 50 bets on matches after making his £55million move to the north east and signing a five-year deal with the Premier League club.

However, according to the Daily Telegraph, Newcastle themselves are not expecting Tonali to face a longer ban or be prohibited from training. Despite his current suspension, the Italian international - who has until April 5 to respond to the charge - has been permitted to take part in club sessions.

And the Premier League club think his punishment is most likely to be concurrent with his current ban. In a released statement, they also issued their full backing for the midfielder, who managed just 12 club appearances before the scandal broke in October.

"Newcastle United acknowledges a misconduct charge received by Sandro Tonali in respect of alleged breaches of FA Betting Rules," the club said. "Sandro continues to fully comply with relevant investigations and he retains the club's full support."

Tonali joined Milan from Brescia in 2020, initially on a season-long loan deal. He duly took a pay cut to make the transfer permanent, and helped the San Siro outfit to the Serie A title in 2021/22 before again featuring prominently in the following campaign.

His form during that period also caught the eye of then national manager Roberto Mancini. But circumstances mean Tonali, who has 15 caps to his name, will now miss Italy’s defence of their Euro 2020 crown in Germany this summer.

As it stands, he will be eligible for selection for club and country on August 27. The Premier League campaign for 2024/25 is due to get underway on August 17, ruling Tonali out of the opening two matches at least.