Disqualification for 10 months: Italy loses a key player before the match with Ukraine in Euro-2024 qualifying

Italy's central midfielder Sandro Tonali has been banned for 10 months for playing in underground betting. The 23-year-old English Newcastle player will return to the field no earlier than August next year and will not take part in the 2024 European Championship.

This was stated by the President of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) Gabriele Gravina, Corriere dello Sport writes. According to him, Tonali pleaded guilty and made a deal with the investigation, which led to this sentence. In total, Sandro was sanctioned for 18 months.

"A plea agreement has been reached between the FIGC Federal Prosecutor's Office and the footballer Sandro Tonali. I can say that the sanctions against Tonali are for 18 months: 10 months of disqualification and eight months of other penalties," Gravini said.

In addition, the Italian national team player will be fined 20 thousand euros and obliged to participate in a social program aimed at preventing irresponsible betting. It is also known that Newcastle will not pay Tonali's salary for the duration of the suspension, which will result in the player's losses of 11 million pounds (12.6 million euros).

We would like to remind you that the Italians are the main rivals of the Ukrainian national team in the fight for a ticket to the 2024 UEFA European Championship. On November 20, the teams will face off in a decisive battle for the championship.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, the European Football Union (UEFA) did not impose sanctions on our national team for the match against Italy in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

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