Newcastle's Sandro Tonali faces anxious wait over FA punishment after additional betting charges

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali now faces an anxious wait to discover what, if any, his punishment will be after the FA slapped him with 50 additional betting charges.

After it was revealed that Sandro Tonali had been involved in illegal betting while at AC Milan, and the Italian Football Federation hit the £55million summer signing with a 10-month ban, the English FA launched their own investigation into the player to see if he'd done the same while at Newcastle.

At the end of March it was revealed that the FA had hit Sandro Tonali with a charge of 50 breaches of Rule E8 between 12 August 2023 (his switch to Newcastle United) and 12 October 2023 (When the accusations came to light).

Tonali has now responded to the FA Charge according to The Chronicle, and is waiting to find out what action they will take.

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Tonali shouldn't have to wait long to return to action next season

As things stand, Tonali's ban will finish in August and he will be eligible to play again in time for Newcastle's third Premier League fixture of next season.

There's still a strong belief that that will still be the case once the FA have finalised their punishment as it's expected that any punishment, such as a further ban, would be retroactive and run concurrent to the 10-month ban already being served, therefore there will be no additional time added to his current suspension.

When you think that Ivan Toney had an eight-month ban for 262 breaches of Rule E8 which also included 13 instances of him betting on his own team, then Tonali's FA punishment should be far less than that.

Just think about that midfield trio next season...

Whatever the outcome, we'll no doubt see the announcement put out via a press release which will also contain the logos of several betting companies, thus making a mockery of the entire thing.

We just hope to have Tonali back in the side ASAP next season as we're still to see what he can really do after his summer switch.

Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, and Joelinton have the potential to be one of the best midfields in the Premier League and we can't wait to see it.