This will be the penalty for Newcastle's Sandro Tonali for the betting scandal

Last week fans around the world were shocked by the news that several Italian players were linked to an illegal betting scandal. In fact, the Italian National Team released a statement claiming that Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo were dropped from the squad before the Euro 2024 qualifier against England for this reason.

A few days later, Tonali's agent, Giuseppe Riso, said: "He is playing his most important game, against betting addiction. He's in shock, he's very sad". Since then the media and social networks have been flooded with speculation and rumors about what might happen to the Newcastle midfielder.

According to Sport newspaper, the final sanction will be known this week. He will most likely receive a 10-month suspension and a fine of almost $15,000. But it will not be the only thing. In addition, he will have to follow a therapeutic plan to recover from his gambling addiction and give conferences in schools and sports associations talking about the dangers of gambling.

In case this is confirmed, it will not be such bad news for the player. The laws provide for much harsher sanctions and he could have been off the field for a long time. But having accepted that his behavior was wrong and the predisposition he showed to collaborate with the investigation made the Italian prosecutor's office decide to ask for a less serious sanction.

When will his last match be?

Sandro Tonali has not yet received any sanction, so he is available for Wednesday's Champions League Group F match between Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund at St. James' Park. But that will most likely be his last game of the season. In the next few days the final sanction will be known and that will prevent him from playing for Newcastle and the Italian national team for almost a year.