Eddie Howe says Sandro Tonali has “suffered” during his period away from football as he also admitted that Newcastle United “would still be feeling the pain” if his betting ban was extended by the Football Association (FA).
Tonali was charged with misconduct by the FA on Thursday with breaches of their betting rules. This covers alleged gambling since he joined Newcastle from AC Milan in a €70million (£59.8m, $75.6m) transfer in July.
An FA statement alleged that Tonali “breached FA Rule E8 50 times by placing bets on football matches between 12 August 2023 and 12 October 2023”. He has until April 5 to respond to the charge.
The Italy midfielder, 23, is midway through a 10 month ban, imposed in October, after being found guilty of breaching rules on gambling by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). This also includes a further eight months rehabilitation, including therapy as well as 16 public appearances in Italy at amateur clubs, federal training centres and addiction charities.
Tonali has not played since Newcastle’s Champions League defeat against Borussia Dortmund in October and Howe says he is unsure whether his ban will be increased following the latest developments.
He said: “It was no surprise to us. Sandro from day one cooperated and was very honest with us, the club, and the authorities, what he has done and what happened. It was no surprise and we have been supporting him through this process.
“We don’t know is the honest answer (if the ban will be extended). I certainly hope for Sandro that there is no further consequences. He has suffered during this period, he’s seeked help, he’s been very honest, admitted he has an issue and the best thing for Sandro would be to resume his career having taken his punishment and learned a lot of lesson.
“That goes without saying (it will be a blow if ban is extended). You can’t quantify how much we’ve missed him this season. It’s been frustrating beyond belief. If that ban was extended, we would still be feeling that pain and so would Sandro. He wants to play football.”
A statement released from Tonali’s agency to Italian news agency ANSA read: “Sandro wants to ‘put a definitive end to a negative and very painful period in his life and come back strongly once his ban ends’.”
Speaking in October, Tonali’s agent Beppe Riso stated at an event in London that his client had been suffering from a “gambling illness”. Howe noted the importance of not overlooking this aspect.
“Very much so (it’s easy to forget a betting illness),” he added. “The news that there was an FA charge, that illness didn’t stop when he moved from Italy to England, that illness was there and people should look at it that way. Not let’s throw the book at him and punish him further, let’s get to the root of the problem. This is a bigger problem for society and isn’t just a problem for Sandro.”
(Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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