Sandro Tonali won’t play against Wolves this Saturday. Eddie Howe, Newcastle’s manager, thought Tonali would be available on Friday, but FIFA agreed to enforce his punishment everywhere after Italian authorities requested it.
Sandro Tonali’s ban from football for betting violations has been approved by FIFA and will start immediately.
The Newcastle midfielder won’t play on Saturday against Wolves in the Premier League match.
Eddie Howe, the Newcastle manager, was expecting Tonali to be available for the match at Molineux on Friday. However, FIFA approved the request from Italian authorities to maintain his punishment globally.
“We’ve not had anything from the Italian authorities so we are waiting for that official confirmation to come through,” said Howe. “There’s a high chance he could be available for us. A few things need to happen before the ban is imposed, so let’s see.”
Tonali admitted to betting on matches in Italy while playing for AC Milan. His cooperation with Turin prosecutors helped him avoid a potential three-year ban.
The Italy international will not be able to play football until late August next year. This means he will miss Euro 2024 and the beginning of next season for Newcastle.
Tonali has to go to treatment sessions for gambling problems and give talks about his experience for eight more months as part of his agreement with Italian authorities.
The PFA is working with the player, according to Sky Sports News.
Howe says he hasn’t planned to search for a temporary replacement for Tonali in the transfer market in January. Tonali was signed in the summer from AC Milan for £55m.
“I’ll have an eye on it and we’ll have an idea but we’re going to have to be adjustable,” Howe said.
“The picture can look very different when January comes. At the moment, our attacking resources are stretched but who is to say what we may need come the end of December. It’s difficult to assess right now.”
Howe emphasized that Tonali’s wellbeing will be his top priority for the next 10 months.
“It’ll be very difficult for him as it will be monotonous,” he added. “It’s going to be a challenge for us to make sure he comes out of the period a better player than the one he is now.
“No one knows away from the football pitch how hard this can be for young players.”
Aston Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo and Nicolo Fagioli of Juventus are being investigated for the same case. Fagioli agreed to a deal with the FIGC and was subsequently banned from playing football for seven months.
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