Newcastle's Sandro Tonali charged with misconduct

The Football Association (FA) has charged Newcastle United's Sandro Tonali with misconduct for alleged breaches of betting rules.

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has been charged by England's FA over alleged betting breaches following his move to the Premier League club as he continues to serve a ban for betting on matches in Italy.

The 23-year-old is serving a 10-month ban after being sanctioned by the Italian football federation (FIGC) last October over betting breaches committed when he was playing for Serie A side AC Milan.

The FA said in a statement: "It's alleged that the Newcastle United midfielder breached FA Rule E8 50 times by placing bets on football matches between 12 August 2023 and 12 October 2023."

The FA added that Tonali has until April 5 to respond to the misconduct charge.

Tonali is the highest profile player caught up in a betting scandal that shook Italian soccer last year. His agent had said he was suffering from a gambling addiction.

"Sandro continues to fully comply with relevant investigations and he retains the club's full support," Newcastle said in a statement.

Tonali was the second major player last year to receive a ban for betting on matches after England international Ivan Toney.

The Brentford striker was banned for eight months after admitting to 232 breaches of the FA's betting rules.

He returned to action in January and earned a call-up to the England squad earlier this month, scoring on his international return against Belgium on Tuesday.