These Premier League players could be suspended over illegal betting scandals

In this October's international break the Italy National Team will play two very important matches for the Euro 2024 qualifiers. The first one will be this Saturday against Malta in Bari. And three days later they will travel to London to face England at Wembley. For Luciano Spaletti's team it will be very important to get good results, as they are in second place in group C with 7 points, just like Ukraine.

However, things got difficult for them due to an unexpected problem: two players of the national team were disqualified for an illegal betting scandal. They are Sandro Tonali of Newcastle and Nicolo Zaniolo of Aston Villa.

This was announced by the Italian Football Federation through a statement: "The Federation informs that, late this afternoon, the Turin Public Prosecutor's Office notified investigation files to the players Sandro Tonali and Nicolò Zaniolo, currently training with the national team at the Federal Technical Center of Coverciano. Regardless of the nature of the acts, considering that in this situation the two players are not in the necessary conditions to face the commitments scheduled in the coming days, the Federation has decided, also to protect them, to allow them to return to their activities in their respective clubs".

Premier League midfielders are not the only ones involved in this scandal. Nicolo Fagioli, Juventus midfielder, is also in the same situation and a few days ago confessed to the Turin Prosecutor's Office: "I bet on soccer matches".

What will happen to them?

In Italy it is forbidden for professional players to bet on matches organized by the Italian Federation, UEFA or FIFA. Therefore, if convicted, Sandro Tonali, Nicoló Zaniolo and Nicolo Fagioli could receive heavy penalties: suspensions of up to 3 years and fines of $25,000. In addition, if other players knew that these illegal acts were being committed and failed to report them, they may also receive suspensions of up to 6 months.