Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali will be handed his punishment for involvement in a betting scandal ‘within the next 48 hours’ after his lawyers met with prosecutors yesterday.
That’s according to Corriere dello Sport, who say the sentence could drop from one year to ten months plus another seven or eight of rehabilitation.
The newspaper explains that the plan is for an agreement to be signed between the FIGC and the Newcastle midfielder ‘on headed paper’ within 48 hours after they met to discuss punishment yesterday.
The lead prosecutor Chiné and Tonali’s lawyers met yesterday morning with the hope of finding a ‘peaceful conclusion’ to the investigation into the player.
A two-hour conversation, which was ‘intense and detailed’ followed and served to find the right formula for the Newcastle man’s plea bargain.
The plan is to hand out a sentence before Newcastle’s clash with Borussia Dortmund tomorrow as UEFA have been pushing for the process to be sped up and a suspension handed out.
Nicolo Fagioli was previously handed a defined suspension with additional months that must be spent in rehabilitation and as an advocate against gambling addiction.
The difference for Tonali is that he has admitted to betting on his own team, Milan not Newcastle to be clear, and therefore must be handed a higher suspension.
The current idea is a ban of 18 months made up of one year away from the pitch and another six months of rehabilitation. Tonali’s lawyers are aiming for a nine-month suspension so he could be part of pre-season next year and start the season normally.
The belief is that an agreement can be struck at ten months suspension, with Tonali’s agents using the rehab part to make the two sides meet.
They presented ‘very rich and detailed health documentation’, detailing Tonali’s gambling addiction to prosecutors, and believe that, as well as a psychiatric assessment, has been enough to swing matters in their favour.
The punishment will now be handed out within the next 48 hours, with a definite plan to fix it before Newcastle’s clash with Dortmund.
