Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe believes that the Football Association has come to the "right decision" to not extend Sandro Tonali's worldwide football ban for breaching betting rules.
The 23-year-old was handed a 10-month suspension in October last year following an investigation from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) into illegal gambling offences during his time in his native Italy.
Tonali, who has required treatment for his gambling addiction, is currently banned from all competitive football until the end of August, ruling him out of Euro 2024, but he has been allowed to train with his Newcastle teammates during his suspension.
The midfielder has since been charged with 50 fresh betting breaches by the FA for placing bets on football games between August 12, 2023 and October 12, 2023, after completing his £55m transfer from AC Milan to Newcastle last summer.
It was confirmed on Thursday that Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent Regulatory Commission after self-declaring breaches of the FA's betting rules.
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Howe supports FA's decision on Tonali
There had been suggestions that Tonali's 10-month ban could increased as a result of his latest betting breaches of the FA's rules.
However, Tonali's latest two-month penalty is suspended until the end of the 2024-25 campaign, meaning that the midfielder will only serve another worldwide football ban for that period of time if he makes another breach.
Tonali, who has also been fined £20,000 by the FA, is able to return to competitive action on August 27, and Howe is pleased with the overall outcome of the verdict.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday ahead of Newcastle's Premier League trip to Burnley on Saturday, Howe said: "I think it's the right decision the FA have arrived at, that his ban isn't extended.
"Sandro is currently working hard behind the scenes. He's trained very well but, we're still supporting him and helping him as he serves this time.
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"He's been very consistent. Of course, I see a small fraction of his life in the time he's at the training ground and he's a very good professional.
"He's still relatively quiet within the group but I think that's just his personality. That's not in a negative way - he's really focussed on his football and improving his game.
"I'm sure he's had really difficult moments in the past few months and days where he's felt worse than others but he's conducted himself in a really positive way.
"I've seen the hunger (to return) there all through the time. He's trained at a really good level and he's done a lot of work on his own. We've covered loads of aspects of his game to try and help him and utilise the time in a positive way."
Newcastle will conclude the 2023-24 season with four more Premier League fixtures and are bidding to qualify for Europe, with Howe's side currently sitting seventh in the table and just one point behind sixth-placed Manchester United.
Oliver Thomas
