The Scottish FA have charged the Rangers midfielder Joey Barton in relation to allegations that he broke SFA rules by betting on football matches. According to reports in the BBC and other news outlets, Barton is accused of placing 44 bets on football between 1/7/16 and 15/9/16.
All players and managers are prevented from betting on football anywhere in the world under SFA rules. Several players in the Scottish leagues have served bans for breaching the gambling rule in recent years.
Although what he has allegedly done was clearly against the rules, at least there are no accusations of him having bet on matches involving his own team. This would clearly be more serious in terms of corruption. According to reports, one of the bets Barton placed was Celtic to lose by three goals or more against Barcelona in the Champions League. They lost 7-0, so at least he made a profit on that one.
There is no indication as to where Barton placed his bets. We’d like to think he at least consulted the Which Bookie reviews to choose a good bookmaker first! Although with a reported wage in the region of £16,000 per week, maybe he didn’t need to claim his free bets when he signed up.
Barton is just about to return from a ban for breaching club discipline. If found guilty by the SFA he faces another lengthy spell on the sidelines. At least he’ll have those online betting accounts to keep him busy. Although perhaps he’ll stick to betting on other sports or reality TV in the future.
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A third ante-post play of the week for Racing analyst Will Smith is a 1-star * 8/1 EW bet in the River Don Novices' Hurdle at Doncaster on Saturday.
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