MK Shrimper
Striker
Banned for 18 months by the FA due to betting....and that's probably the end of his playing career.
Maybe I've missed it, but what does the evidence prove exactly?Fully deserved, given what the evidence proves.
In terms of the punishment, it does feel a little bit harsh to me, but at the same time, I don't know what is in the FA rule book (if anything!) on this.
He's a ****ing idiot though. Just stay away, because perception matters. When I worked at Ladbrokes, having a bet in a Ladbrokes shop was a sackable offence. Not because, as a head office employee, I'd be able to influence things, or rig a bet, but just to keep things as clean and clear as possible. I was down in Plymouth for a Southend game once and when everyone went in to Ladbrokes to do a coupon, I stayed outside. The chances of me being identified as a head office employee hundreds of miles away were tiny, but the easiest thing to do was just say no.
I know someone who works at head office for a gaming firm.
The second certain bets are made half the staff are on their phones having a punt...
All footballers know it's against league rules to bet. Not once, twice, but in his case 1,260 times.
Maybe I've missed it, but what does the evidence prove exactly?
The worst of it, from what I can ascertain, is that he bet on his own team to lose, when he wasn't involved in the squad, and therefore had no way if influencing the result. He can't really be accused of cheating. He can be accused of being a n0b head, but not cheating.
The length of the ban seems a bit much IMO. When you consider previous bans in football, for unrelated, yet worse offences, this seems incredibly harsh. Di Canio's shove on Paul Alcock & Cantona's assault on the fan are far worse examples of bringing the game into disrepute, yet are nowhere near the same punishment levels as Barton.
Also, I'm no fan of Barton by any means.
He dealt pi gow and bacharat to the big millionaire gamblers that came from overseas, he once was offered a 10000 dollar tip and refused it,when asked why by the gambler ,he responded and said to " Sir, to accept your tip first i would have to call the pit boss over and resign my job , and not to be rude Sir, but 10000 dollars wouldnt even pay off my car and without a job how would i pay it off , thank you kindly for your offer but i hope you understand why i cannot accept it .