Former striker of Liverpool FC Daniel Sturridge has received a two-week ban from football and is to pay £75,000 after being found guilty of violating the Football Association’s betting rules. The 29-year-old football player was given a six-week suspension from playing, but four weeks of the ban were suspended, so the forward would be free to play again on July 31st.
The Football Association, however, has not been satisfied with the penalty suffered by Sturridge and shared that it intends to appeal against the dismissal by an independent regulatory commission of several charges which allege that the player distributed secret internal information regarding a potential transfer in January 2018.
According to the FA, the former Liverpool player has to suffer at least a six-month ban, especially considering the allegations of spreading inside information on a possible move to Sevilla. A date for the Association’s appeal, however, has not been set yet.
The six-week suspension from all domestic matches came into effect on July 17th.
The Football Association shared in a statement that it “respectfully disagrees” with the findings of the regulatory commission and intends to appeal against the dismissed charges, as well as the sanction faced by the footballer.
Sturridge, who denied all the charges against him, shared that he was very disappointed to hear about the FA’s appeal but confirmed he would defend his position. He also shared that the last 15 months were very hard for him and said the was glad that the majority of the charges against him were dismissed.
Nine of the Eleven Charges against Sturridge Were Dismissed by the Regulatory Commission
As Casino Guardian reported at the time, Daniel Sturridge faced the FA charges with misconduct in November 2018 and the initially expected punishment for his misconduct was more severe.
Now, the regulatory commission cleared the striker of nine of the eleven charges he faced regarding his transfer from Liverpool in January last year. Sturridge, however, was found to have hinted of a possible transfer to Seville to his brother Leon. Eventually, the transfer did not happen, as the club was not able to agree on a loan deal’s terms, so Sturridge went to West Bromwich Albion on loan until the end of the 2017/18 season.
Apart from that, no bet on Sevilla transfer was made by Leon Sturridge. Another relative of the football player, Anthon Walters, was found to have lost £10,000 betting that Daniel Sturridge would go to Internazionale, which was one of the clubs interested in signing the player.
The investigation found that the overall amount wagered by people who are connected to Sturridge both directly or indirectly was worth £13,755.82, returning £10,762.56. One attempt to place further bets exceeding £20,000 on the football player’s potential transfer at the time but they were refused by betting operators. According to investigation findings, if accepted, and successful, these bets would have brought an extra £317,006 to the punters.
The former minister for Sports, Tracey Crouch, who last year resigned from her position, backed the Football Association and called the ruling a “mockery of the FA rules”.
- Author
Daniel Williams
