Joey Barton hit with 18-month FA ban after betting on own matches, hints at retirement
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Updated 26/04/2017 at 12:42 GMT
The Football Association has announced that Burnley midfielder Joey Barton has been banned for 18 months after admitting a misconduct charge over betting.
Joey Barton of Burnley arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Middlesbrough and Burnley
Image credit: Getty Images
Barton, 34, re-signed for Burnley at the start of January with the issue already hanging over him, having been charged by the FA in December in relation to 1,260 bets allegedly placed on football matches over 10 years - including some he actively participated in.
The midfielder accepted the misconduct charge in February but was hoping to avoid a lengthy ban by requesting a person hearing.
However, the FA came down strongly on Barton, who issued a statement admitting that he had bet on his own team to lose matches, and hit him with an 18-month ban and a fine of £30,000.
The bets in question
Barton's statement revealed 30 particular occasions the FA had highlighted where he bet on matches involving his own team. These included:
- Occasions Barton bet on his own team to lose, when he was not involved in the match
- An occasion Barton bet on himself to score the first goal, in a match he started (Man City v Fulham April 28, 2006)
- An occasion Barton bet on a team-mate not to score the first goal in a match he started (Georgios Samaras, same match as above)
- An occasion Barton bet on his own team to win, in a match he started (Newcastle v Stevenage, January 8, 2011)
- Occasions Barton bet on his own team to win, when he was not involved in the match
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Burnley's Joey Barton
Image credit: Reuters
'I'd like to offer some context'
Barton, who said he would appeal against the severity of the punishment, which "effectively forces me into an early retirement from playing football", said:
"Raised at the hearing was that between 2004 and 2011 I placed a handful of bets on my own team to lose matches. I accept of course that this is against the rules, for the obvious reason that a player with an additional financial stake in the game might seek to change the course of it for his own personal gain. However I’d like to offer some context.
"First, in every game I have played, I have given everything. I’m confident that anyone who has ever seen me play, or played with or against me, will confirm that to be the case. I am more aware than anyone that I have character issues that I struggle with, and my addictive personality is one of them, but I am a devoted and dedicated professional who has always given my all on the pitch.
"Second, on the few occasions where I placed a bet on my own team to lose, I was not involved in the match day squad for any of those games. I did not play. I was not even on the bench. I had no more ability to influence the outcome than had I been betting on darts, snooker, or a cricket match in the West Indies. I should add that on some of those occasions, my placing of the bet on my own team to lose was an expression of my anger and frustration at not being picked or being unable to play. I understand people will think that is childish and selfish and I cannot disagree with that.
"Third, I should point out that the last of these bets against my own team was six years ago (and in a reserve game), when I was going through a particularly troubled period, and when the FA were not nearly as hard on gambling as they are now.
"One thing I can state with absolute certainty – I have never placed a bet against my own team when in a position to influence the game, and I am pleased that in all of the interviews with the FA, and at the hearing, my integrity on that point has never been in question. I could not live with myself, nor face my team-mates or the fans of the clubs I played for, if they seriously thought I would bet on my team to lose a game whose outcome I could influence."
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Joey Barton of Burnley takes a look around the pitch prior to the Premier League match between Everton and Burnley
Image credit: Getty Images
'I feel the ban is excessive'
On his decision to appeal, Barton wrote:
"A ban of 18 months is longer than several bans handed to players who played in matches where they bet for their team to lose and – unlike me – were found to have had an ability to influence the games. The only players to be banned for 12 months or longer bet against their own teams and played in the matches in which they placed those bets. Players who did not play in the matches they placed the bets in have never been banned for longer than 6 months. I feel the ban is excessive in this context.
Having consulted with my friends and lawyers, I have decided I will be appealing against the length of the ban. I hope that I shall be afforded a fair hearing by an independent Appeal Panel. If I am, we are confident that the sanction will be reduced to a fair one that both reflects the offences as well as the mitigating factors and the fact that there was nothing untoward or suspicious about the bets I made.
FA statement
Joey Barton has been suspended from football and all football activity for 18 months with immediate effect after he admitted an FA misconduct charge in relation to betting. It was alleged that between 26 March 2006 and 13 May 2016, he placed 1,260 bets on the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, football matches or competitions in breach of FA Rule E8. Following the Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, the Burnley midfielder was also fined £30,000 and warned as to his future conduct. Written reasons will follow in due course.
Barton was given a one-match ban by the Scottish FA in November after placing 44 bets on matches between July and September 2016.
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