Well, that result at the Riverside is a real surprise, I really thought Boro after holding them to a 0-0 at theirs would turn them over. But to see both Luton & Coventry in the playoff final is great after both clubs have been through turbulent times. P.S. What a good job Mark Robins has done, a manager not good enough for Scunny.
It's complete nonsense. The sport actively promotes gambling but is now punishing a player for gambling. And then there's the length of the ban, and considering what Suarez got for racism, it's a complete joke.
Toney was well aware of the rules and the consequences and went ahead anyway, he's no-one to blame but himself. Just because Aston Martin use their Le Mans car in their advert, doesn't mean you can drive one up the M1 at 200 miles an hour.
But the nature of the ban is nuts. You get 11 games if you push a ref, 10 games for biting someone, Man City have 115 charges of financial irregularity and seem unlikely to receive any sort of real punishment.
Another sport swathed in gambling is Horse Racing and it's no different.A professional jockey isn't allowed to lay or back on a horse in any race,ask anyone else to do so,or receive proceeds from any such bets.It's the rules and they are fully aware of them. I agree it sounds a bit draconian but it's designed to discourage race fixing. Footballers could influence the results of matches and bet on the outcome just as easily,that's why(rightly or wrongly) it breaches F.A rules.
That’s the rules and it’s fine Ric. Just hope there is a level playing field when other clubs break rules. I remember Swindon having to drop 2 divisions they year they made the top division for I think financially regulations. Would that happen to all in England. Scotland was brave enough with Rangers. Let’s watch this space.
Nobody’s denying he broke the rules. Some of us are saying football’s relationship with gambling in general is a disgrace and hypocrisy. Your comparison to car adverts is just stupid.
This is nowhere near the longest ban for breaching betting rules, Bradley Wood was banned for 6 years and Joey Barton for 13 months. More recently, they banned Andros Townsend and Daniel Sturridge for four months each for the same reason, but as players are still ignoring the rules, they obviously thought a harsher penalty was needed. It seems fair enough to me, there's plenty of other long bans for other offences, like biting, failing (or missing) drug tests etc.
The Premier League have already agreed a ban on gambling companies as main shirt sponsors, so it's on its way out anyway.
~Former Champion Jockey Silvestre de Sousa just got 10 months ban in Hong Kong for helping another jockey have a bet... he wasn't the one betting...
Not enough. Gambling advertisement in all forms should be banned from football if the football authorities in this country are going to reprimand players and hand out lengthy bans. It’s not just shirt sponsors. Betting companies are ****ing everywhere in football.
Re financial clout and club name counting when you are in trouble.. 1990 Swindon Town demoted for illegal payment to players. Demoted 2 divisions changed to 1 on appeal. 1994 Spurs for illegal payments to players fined 600000k deducted 12 points and banned from the FA Cup. Changed to just 1.5 Mill fine on appeal.
