Eddie Howe breaks silence on Sandro Tonali after Newcastle United star dealt FA betting probe

Eddie Howe vowed to “protect” Sandro Tonali following the Newcastle United midfielder’s latest betting charge.

The FA released a statement confirming they have charged the Italian for alleged gambling breaches between August and October last year. Tonali arrived as Newcastle’s marquee summer signing from AC Milan in July.

Italian authorities found the 23-year-old guilty of betting misdemeanours in October and banned him from all professional competition for 10 months. These fresh allegations threaten to extend his suspension - although the FA are expected to run any further punishment concurrently should he be found guilty.

Newcastle released a statement supporting Tonali and confirmed he is cooperating with the investigation. Speaking ahead of the Magpies’ mammoth Premier League clash against West Ham United, Toon boss Howe urged the FA not to lengthen his ban.

“The news that there was an FA charge, that illness didn’t stop when he moved from Italy to England,” Howe told reporters. “That illness was there and people should look at it that way, not ‘let’s throw the book at him and let’s punish him even further’ because I don’t think that gets to the root of the problem.

“We need to protect all our players because this is something that’s open to everybody and becoming a bigger problem in society, so this isn’t just a problem for Sandro. We don’t know, is the honest answer. I certainly hope for Sandro that there are no further consequences.

“He has suffered during this period. He has sought help, he’s been very honest, he has admitted he has an issue, and I think the best thing for Sandro would be to resume his career having taken his punishment and having learned a lot of lessons from this.”