LONDON: Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has been charged with misconduct by England’s Football Association relating to 50 alleged incidents of betting on matches, the governing body announced Thursday.

Tonali’s multiple alleged breaches of FA rule E8 are said to have taken place between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023.

The 23-year-old has until April 5 to respond.

In October last year, it was announced Tonali would miss the rest of the season for club and country after FIFA, football’s global governing body, ratified a 10-month ban by Italian authorities for breaching betting rules.

He will also miss Italy’s defence of their European Championship title in the June-July finals in Germany.

Tonali’s agent has previously said his client, who joined Newcastle from AC Milan in July for around 55 million ($69 million, 64 million euros), has a gambling addiction.

As well as the 10-month ban, Tonali was fined 20,000 euros and ordered to undergo an eight-month course of therapy to address his problems after reaching a plea bargain following an investigation into illegal betting conducted by the Italian prosecuting authorities and the Italian Football Federation.

Newcastle, reacting to Thursday’s announcement by the FA, said in a statement: “Newcastle United acknowledges a misconduct charge received by Sandro Tonali in respect of alleged breaches of FA betting rules.

“Sandro continues to fully comply with relevant investigations and he retains the club’s full support. Due to this ongoing process, Sandro and Newcastle United are unable to offer further comment at this time.”

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2024