Revealed: Newcastle United midfielder placed bet on Manchester City defeat in 2023

Newcastle United and Italy international midfielder Sandro Tonali placed a single bet on Manchester City to lose to Eddie Howe’s side in 2023, it has been revealed.

As confirmed on Thursday, Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali was handed a suspended two-month ban after admitting to breaches of Football Association betting rules, but will not serve the ban if he does not commit further breaches before the end of the 2024/25 season.

The Italy international midfielder is currently serving a 10-month ban running until August for offences during his time in Italy, and was first charged by the FA back in March having admitted to placing between 40 and 50 football bets after joining Newcastle.

The written reasons issued on Thursday stated the four Newcastle matches Tonali admitted betting on included for him and his teammates to secure a victory over Manchester City at St James’ Park in the League Cup third round.

• An accumulator involving either Newcastle United to beat Brighton & Hove Albion on 2 September 2023 or to beat Burnley on 30 September.
• An accumulator including Newcastle United to beat Brentford on 16 September.
• A single bet on Newcastle United to beat Manchester City on 27 September.
• An accumulator including Newcastle United to beat West Ham United on 8 October.

Alexander Isak scored the decisive goal for Newcastle on a night when Manchester City crashed out of the competition having made significant changes to their starting eleven, including a start for Kalvin Phillips.

Stefan Ortega assumed duties as usual between the sticks, while Rico Lewis would adopt a role in defensive midfield, as Sergio Gomez took up a position on the right-wing of a forward line that also featured Oscar Bobb.

The aforementioned Norwegian forward would go on to be the match-winner at St James’ Park when the two sides met later on in the season in Premier League action, slotting home a sensational Kevin De Bruyne assist to claim all three points in a 2-3 win in mid-January.