Sportsmen who have fallen foul of strict betting regulations

AFC Wimbledon manager Wally Downes has been suspended from first-team duties following a Football Association misconduct charge related to betting on football matches.

The news comes just eight days after Wales assistant coach Rob Howley was sent home from the Rugby World Cup in Japan for a potential breach of betting rules.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at other sportsmen who have recently fallen foul of the strict regulations surrounding gambling.

Barton banned

Midfielder Joey Barton was suspended from all football activity for 18 months during April 2017 after he admitted a misconduct charge from the Football Association related to betting. Barton was fined £30,000 and warned about his future conduct after breaking FA rules for placing 1,260 bets on matches between 26 March 2006 and 13 May 2016. Following an appeal, the sanction was later reduced by almost five months. Barton would go on to make a return to the game as the new head coach at Fleetwood in June 2018.

Bingham hit in the pocket

Former world champion Stuart Bingham was given a six-month suspension for breaching snooker’s betting regulations. Bingham, who won his title at the Crucible in 2015, was found to have placed bets of close to £36,000 on matches – some of which he was playing in – over a period of 12 years. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association said Bingham had admitted to a small amount of betting using two accounts in his own name but was actually guilty of “greater betting over at least seven years”. Half of the ban was suspended, meaning Bingham was not allowed to play again until January 26 2018 and was also ordered to pay £20,000 in costs.

Teenager Stevens sanctioned

Earlier this month, Leeds midfielder Jordan Stevens was given a six-week ban and a £1,200 fine after being charged with misconduct by the FA in relation to its betting rules. The 19-year-old admitted to placing 59 bets on football between August 2018 and May 2019 – five of those involved games in which Leeds played. The ban is on all footballing activity which means Stevens is unable to train with Leeds during that period or interact with players or the coaching staff – a move the club has called “excessive” and a “disproportionate punishment”.

Sturridge’s ‘insider information’

Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge was handed a two-week suspension from football and a £75,000 fine for breaching betting regulations. An independent regulatory commission found that Sturridge, capped 26 times by England, had given his brother inside information on a possible move to Sevilla during the January 2018 transfer window. However, nine of the 11 charges were dismissed against Sturridge, who was free to resume his career on July 31 as four weeks of a six-week ban were suspended. After his contract at Anfield expired this summer, the former Chelsea forward was a free agent and went on to sign a three-year deal for Turkish side Trabzonspor.

Stephenson pays a heavy price

Australian rules football handed out a 10-match ban to Collingwood star Jaidyn Stephenson and a 20,000 Australian dollar (£11,350) fine for betting on games involving his club. Stephenson had been hit with a sanction of 22 matches, but 12 of those games were suspended. It emerged the Magpies’ player had given money to a friend to place bets for him, and also once used a friend’s betting account. The total amount wagered was 36 AUS Dollars (£20) – all of which were unsuccessful.

Who ate all the pies?

Former Sutton goalkeeper Wayne Shaw was fined £375 and suspended for two months for betting-related offences after being pictured eating a pie on the substitutes’ bench during the FA Cup fifth-round defeat to Arsenal in February 2017. Shaw had been found guilty at an independent disciplinary hearing after he was alleged to have intentionally influenced betting markets. The goalkeeper tucked into the food as he watched the closing stages from the sidelines – with a bookmaker having offered odds on the likelihood of Shaw eating a pie during the match. The incident caught widespread attention and quickly became known as ‘Piegate’. Shaw, who was sacked by the club in the wakes of the controversy, later said he had suffered from depression.