Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has been banned from football for 10 months over breaches of rules on betting on matches in Italy, the head of the Italian Football Federation.
Tonali was sanctioned with an 18-month ban, eight of which will be commuted to alternative treatment after an agreement was reached with the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the FIGC confirmed.
The plea-bargain agreement, which is expected to apply to international football, was confirmed by FIGC President Gabriele Gravina. It will rule Tonali out for the remainder of the club season and the Euro 2024 tournament in June and July.
Tonali is the highest-profile player caught up in a betting scandal that is shaking Italian football.
The 23-year-old was found to have gambled on matches involving his former club AC Milan before he joined Saudi-owned Newcastle in a 56-million-pound ($67.7m) move that made him the most expensive Italian player in history.
Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, recently acknowledged that his client has a gambling problem and that Tonali told prosecutors he bet on AC Milan and Brescia when he played for those clubs.
