Izuchukwu OkosiThe Football Association in England is investigating whether banned midfielder Sandro Tonali breached betting rules after joining Newcastle from AC Milan in the summer.
Tonali, 23, was suspended for 10 months by the Italian Football Federation in October for betting on matches involving his teams Brescia and Milan.
The ban was made worldwide, meaning that Tonali will miss the rest of the season and Euro 2024 if Italy qualifies albeit he is allowed to train with his teammates.
The midfielder likened to legendary former Azurri star Andrea Pirlo, joined Newcastle from Milan for £55m in July and the FA is investigating whether he was involved in betting on football following that move.
Meanwhile, Magpies sporting director Dan Ashworth said he did not know if Milan were aware of the betting charges when they sold him.
“It’s really difficult for me to get into what other clubs do or don’t know,” Ashworth said.
“All we can do is look at our own internal investigation and internal process. It’s a really difficult question for me to answer – I just don’t know.
“It was a massive shock, a massive surprise. Dealing with it was new to all of us. It came from nowhere.”
In reply, Milan told the media they first learned about the charges from the media and only know what has been reported in the news.
Tonali only made 12 appearances for Eddie Howe’s side before the implementation of the ban, which will keep the Italy international out until the start of next season.
The federal prosecutor in Italy and Tonali agreed a plea bargain, meaning eight months of his ban will be commuted to “a therapeutic plan” to help “recovery from gambling addiction”.
That will include Tonali making at least 16 public appearances in Italy, where he will be expected to speak to young players about the dangers of gambling.
Though unable to play in any matches, Tonali can train alongside his Newcastle team-mates during his ban.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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