While betting on the football can add a bit of fun to the weekend for supporters, it remains strictly forbidden for players to get involved.
In order to maintain the game’s integrity, the FA has in place a worldwide ban for those involved in football, namely players, club staff and officials working in the Premier League down to the eighth tier of English football, as well as the top two tiers in women’s football.
Rules are more relaxed for those who play below these levels, but they are still barred from betting on any game or competition they can participate in and/or influence.
The ban prohibits these individuals from betting on anything football-related, including the sharing of inside information and match-fixing.
16 times professional footballers were banned
Some of these guys make Luis Suarez look like an angel!
ByAlex CapleOct 27, 2023
West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta is currently embroiled in a betting scandal which could result in the Brazilian receiving a lifetime ban from the FA. His hearing is set to take place in March 2025, lasting three weeks.
Signed by the Hammers in August 2022, Paqueta was investigated for potential betting breaches in August 2023, before being charged at the end of last season, having been accused of getting booked deliberately.
In addition, the Hammers ace has also been charged with multiple breaches of failing to comply with the FA’s investigations.
Should Paqueta be banned for life, it would be unprecedented at this level of the English game. However, if a more lenient punishment befalls him, he would be joining a number of Premier League players to face temporary bans and sanctions for breaking betting rules.
We’ve taken a look at those players below, ranked by the severity of their punishments.
9 Martin Demichelis Fined £22,058 (2016)
Former Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis escaped a football ban in 2016 despite breaking the FA’s rules on betting.
It was reported that the Argentinian placed 29 bets on football matches over the course of four weeks in early 2016.
Now manager of Mexican club Monterrey, the centre-back left City that summer to join Espanyol in La Liga.
8 Cameron Jerome Fined £50,000 (2013)
Cameron Jerome was another player lucky enough to escape a suspension from the FA, despite admitting to “repeatedly” breaching betting regulations, according to reports.
Playing for Stoke City at the time, Jerome was fined £50,000 and warned about his future conduct, but did not miss any football as a result.
Perhaps going in his favour was the fact that none of his breaches concerned matches or competitions he was involved in.
7 Andros Townsend 4-month suspended ban, fined £18,000 (2013)
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace midfielder Andros Townsend was banned and fined for breaching betting regulations in 2013.
While he was not betting on games he was involved in, the FA banned him for four months, with all but one of those months suspended.
With Townsend’s ban falling in the summer, he didn’t miss a single match, though he did voluntarily withdraw from the England squad for the U21 European Championship and was fined £18,000.
6 Harry Toffolo 5-month suspended ban, fined £20,956 (2023)
Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo was handed a suspended five-month ban in September 2023 after breaching betting rules on 375 occasions.
Reports at the time appeared to suggest that these breaches were related to bets on football and passing on inside information during a period of over three years ending in March 2017 while playing for Norwich City.
The independent commission’s report said that the player’s mental health was a mitigating factor in his betting offences, with the player’s situation thankfully improving having now kicked a gambling addiction.
Toffolo’s suspended ban remains active today, and will expire at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Nottingham Forest and 8 other Premier League surprise packages
The Premier League has had plenty of surprise packages over the previous 30 years – here are some of the best.
1 ByRoss KilvingtonNov 5, 2024 5 Kieran Trippier 10-week ban, fined £70,000 (2020)
Kieran Trippier was given a 10-week ban from football for breaking betting rules around the time he joined Atletico Madrid from Spurs in 2019.
In late 2020, Trippier was found guilty of passing on information regarding his prospective move to Atletico Madrid before it became public knowledge, effectively hinting to a friend to bet on him switching clubs.
The ban was briefly lifted following an appeal from his new club, but Trippier still missed 11 matches during that period and was ordered to pay £70,000.
4 Daniel Sturridge 4-month ban, fined £150,000 (2020)
Daniel Sturridge was handed a part-suspended ban and fined £75,000 for two breaches of betting rules regarding a potential transfer move during his time at Liverpool.
However, the FA appealed the decision, which had essentially banned the forward for a couple of weeks despite Sturridge breaking the strict betting rules in place. His fine was then doubled to £150,000 – the highest on this list.
Sturridge was investigated for instructing his brother to bet on him joining Sevilla in January 2018. The FA argued that Sturridge’s family used his inside info to earn money in the betting markets.
Thousands of pounds were placed as bets, with some £20k even being rejected by bookmakers, such was the suspicious activity at the time.
Sturridge ended up joining West Brom that winter and missed out on the England World Cup squad that year.
The charges saw his contract at Turkish club Trabzonspor terminated, and he ended his playing career at Perth Glory before moving into punditry.
3 Ivan Toney 8-month ban, fined £50,000 (2023)
England striker Ivan Toney was banned from football for hundreds of betting breaches, resulting in an eight-month suspension between May 2023 and January 2024.
Playing for Brentford at the time, he was also fined £50,000 after admitting to 232 breaches of the rules, which included betting on his team to lose, as well as his own performance.
While a lifetime ban is possible under those circumstances, Toney’s provisional 15-month ban was reduced owing to his gambling addiction.
The ban put his place in England’s Euro 2024 squad under threat, but Toney returned to form in time to make the team, netting a penalty in the crucial shootout win over Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
Every England penalty shootout at major tournaments
A chance to relive all of the Three Lions’ penalty shootouts at major tournaments.
1 ByStephan GeorgiouJul 6, 2024 2 Sandro Tonali 10-month ban, fined £37,380 (2023)
Newcastle United signed Sandro Tonali in the summer of 2023, but by the following October, the Italian had been banned for 10 months and fined €20,000 (£17,380) for breaching betting regulations during his time in Serie A with Milan.
As part of his recovery from a gambling addiction, Tonali was ordered to return to Italy to speak to young players about the dangers of betting.
Before his ban took effect, he also placed bets on Newcastle to win on four occasions, with the FA handing him a suspended two-month ban and a £20,000 fine.
The FA said the money placed on those bets was worth over €100,000 (£85,600).
1 Joey Barton 18-month ban, fined £30,000 (2017)
Joey Barton’s playing career was effectively ended by an unprecedented 18-month ban for 1,260 bets placed over a 10-year period.
Barton, who claimed he had a gambling addiction, felt the length of the ban was harsh and felt a player who was “less controversial” would have received a lesser punishment.
He had also been banned for one month during his time at Rangers by the Scottish FA, while some of his bets involved his own team losing – albeit while he was not playing.
It was thought he was placing an average stake of around £150 per bet, which would total £189,000 being spent on betting alone.
A month after the ban took effect, he was released by Burnley, and Barton moved into management after serving his suspension.