Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali is set to be banned from football after admitting he placed bets on his own team whilst at AC Milan but the length of the suspension will unlikely be the worst that can be dished out.
Tonali is one of several stars caught up in a betting scandal within Italian football and at a hearing in Turin on Tuesday, the Italian star admitted to making bets on Milan to win games in matches that he didn’t partake in.
As a result, the 23-year-old should be handed a shorter ban, given his cooperation in admitting he placed the bets but could still endure a lengthy time out of action. Juventus’ Nicolo Fagioli has been handed a seven-month ban, though he self-reported himself whilst Tonali did not.
The absence of Tonali will be hugely frustrating for Newcastle manager Eddie Howe as his big summer signing could potentially miss most, if not all, of the current campaign.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Ben Jacobs has stated that Tonali will unlikely get the maximum three-year ban for his actions and that it will be around the 12-month mark.
The journalist said: “Tonali has, in the last 24 hours, come out and admitted that he bet on AC Milan while still there. It appears that those bets were on Milan to win, and it also appears that he wasn’t playing at the time in those games, which means that he wouldn’t have been able to influence those matches.
“The penalty in terms of a suspension can be up to three years worldwide. But I think, talking to sources this morning, the fact that he’s admitted it and needs help will be deemed mitigating circumstances. Although the ban will be lengthy, it’s likely to be closer to 12 months than three years, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
