Sandro Tonali was seen for the first time in the stands at St. James Park after he was banned for 10 months for betting scandal.
The ban was extended worldwide by the football governing body FIFA and he is to receive treatment for a ‘gambling addiction’ as part of rehabilitation measures while serving the ban.
Tonali cannot be selected for any competitive match by Newcastle United and has been forced to watch the Magpies from the stands.
The Italy international despite serving the 10-month ban is still involved in the training activities with Eddie Howe’s team.
Dan Ashworth, Newcastle’s Sporting Director, revealed that he was stunned by the illegal betting scandal involving Sandro TonalI and stated that the club are investigating the transfer.
Sandro Tonali signed for Newcastle United from Serie A giants AC Milan for a fee of £55m in the summer transfer window.
However, the Italian has been ruled out for the remainder of the season and that is a major blow to manager Eddie Howe’s season plans.
Tonali, 23, had not performed as expected since joining the Magpies before his ban, but he showed signs of promising career with the Magpies.
From the images, as posted on our page, one could see that he looked frustrated not playing for Newcastle in the Premier League win over Arsenal.
Futballnews also reported that Sandro Tonali is now being investigated by the English FA for another betting scandal after his move to St James’ Park in July.
Sandro Tonali risks another ban by the Football Association if they find any evidence of illegal betting after his £55million move to Newcastle in July, 2023.
The former AC Milan midfielder previously admitted that he is a gambling addict, and the FA are looking at whether any offenses were committed in England.
The initial ban was handed to him with fellow Italian players Nicolo Fagioli and Nicolo Zaniolo by the Italian Football Federation.
Sandro Tonali
Sandro Tonali is an Italian professional footballer who was born on 8 May, 2000 and plays mainly as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder for Newcastle United and the Italy national team.
Tonali is regarded as a promising young Italian player in his position by the media, and the Italian is a regista – a creative player.
The Italian is sometimes likened to Andrea Pirlo in terms of his movement, coordination, appearance, technical qualities, position, and playing style.
The Newcastle United player usually plays in a central or defensive midfield role as a deep-lying playmaker in a 4–3–3 formation.
Although naturally right-footed, he is known for his accurate long-passing ability with either foot and he is also adept at taking set pieces.
In addition to Pirlo, Sandro Tonali has also cited Steven Gerrard and Luka Modrić as his role models and has also compared his playing style to that of Gennaro Gattuso.
Sandro Tonali was named by UEFA as one of the 50 promising young players to watch out for ahead of the 2019–20 season in July 2019.
