Sandro Tonali has suffered enough and does not deserve to see his ban extended - or at least that is the view of Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe.
The Italy international must now wait for the conclusion of an Independent Regulatory Commission to see if Tonali sees a further ban bolted on to his 10-month global suspension. Tonali was charged with 50 alleged betting offences on Thursday and has until April 5 to respond.
But when asked if he thinks he will be banned beyond August 27, Howe said today: "We don't know is the honest answer - I certainly hope for Sandro that there is no further consequences. He has suffered during this period. He has sought help. He has been very honest with us.
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"He has admitted he has an issue. The best thing for Sandro would be for him to resume his career having taken his punishment and learnt a lot of lessons from this."
Tonali will still be allowed to resume training with Newcastle, as per the terms of the ban dished out by the Italian Football Federation, and Howe stated he was expecting the new charges: "It might have been a surprise externally, but not for us. He is seeking help on a regular basis. This is something that will not be going away. He has regular meetings both here and an Italy to deal with it.
"He has trained really well, and his English has improved. He has the support of his team-mates. I am positive about his comeback whenever that is."
The Newcastle head coach feels that Tonali's problems should be classed as an illness and that the midfielder's woes should not be taken too lightly.
The former AFC Bournemouth boss said: "The news that there was an FA charge, that illness didn't stop when he moved to England. That illness was there and people should look at it that way - not let's throw the book at him and punish him even further because I don't think that gets to the root of the problem.
"We need to protect all our players. This is something that's open to everybody and becoming a bigger problem in society. This isn't just a problem for Sandro."
