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Half Of Players Bet On Football Says Barton
Joey Barton has spoken out about his gambling, and claims he’s far from the only player who’s done it. According to online betting website whichbookie.co.uk, Barton claims that as many as 50% of professional footballers have bet on matches at one time or another.
Barton was infamously banned by the FA for 18 months after accepting a misconduct charge for betting on football, thereby breaching FA Rule E8 which states that players must not bet even on games they are not involved in. He was found to have placed over 1200 bets in a 10 year period.
Recently Joey spoke out about his addiction, and at the same time he claimed that the problem is culturally ingrained in sport. Whilst he did not cite any actual evidence to back up the claim, it’s reasonable to assume that there are at least some other players who are also involved in betting but haven’t been caught yet.
The FA statement read:
“The integrity of football in England at all levels is of paramount importance.
“We would urge anyone with any evidence of a breach of our regulations to come forward with information.”
It’s unlikely that Barton will name names, and with his ban set to expire in June, a return to football in a coaching or management capacity has been rumoured. Watch this space for developments there.
