FA to consider future partnerships with gambling operators
Greg Clarke, chairman of the English Football Association (FA), has said that the sport’s national governing body is to “consider” its partnerships with gambling companies, following a high-profile regulation breach involving a Premier League player.
Speaking to the Times newspaper, Clarke said that he has ordered a report into whether it is appropriate for the FA to have official relationships with betting operators.
The FA board will now discuss the issue, as well as its partnerships with alcohol companies, and is expected to make a decision by the summer.
“The sport has a duty to consider and ask itself what is right,” Clarke told the newspaper.
Last month, former England international Joey Barton, who currently plays for top-tier Premier League club Burnley, was handed an 18-month ban after admitting to a misconduct breach related to betting.
Barton was found to have placed 1,260 bets between March 26, 2006, and May 13, 2016, thus breaching strict FA rules regarding betting on football.
The midfielder has said he intends to appeal the length of the ban, adding that there should be further action take over what he described as an “explosion of sports betting” in recent years.
A group of experts echoed Barton’s comments and urged both regulators and the government to address the problem.
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