Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said he hopes Sandro Tonali avoids further consequences, as he was charged for alleged breaches of betting rules.
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The midfielder was charged with misconduct by the Football Association for alleged breaches of betting rules on Thursday (28). He is already serving a 10-month ban for breaching betting rules in Italy.
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“He has suffered during this period and he has sought help”, said Howe. Back in October the Italian Football Federation handed Tonali a worldwide ban with eight months of it commuted to “a therapeutic plan” to help “recovery from gambling addiction”.
The English FA alleges that the midfielder broke its rules by placing 50 bets on matches between 12 August and 12 October 2023. “The news that there was an FA charge, that illness didn’t stop when he moved from Italy to England”, said Howe.
“That illness was there and people should look at it that way, not ‘let’s throw the book at him and punish him even further’ because I don’t think that gets to the root of the problem”, added the manager.