Manager breaches FA betting rules but receives only a warning

The Football Association has denied accusations of secrecy after an unnamed manager received only a warning for breaching betting rules.

The governing body has taken a robust approach to players betting on matches over recent years, banning internationals including Kieran Trippier, Daniel Sturridge and Brentford striker Ivan Toney, who returns to training next week after receiving an eight-month ban earlier this year.

It has led to questions over how a manager working in the top four tiers of English football could make bets in contravention of the FA’s worldwide football betting ban but receive an unpublicised warning rather than a fine or suspension.

The FA is adamant that there has been no double-standards and that it deals with each case individually on the basis of all relevant circumstances, including the nature of the bets as well as the frequency and value.

The manager, who cannot be named for legal reasons unconnected to the gambling issue, had made 28 bets on football but only three since the FA’s ban was introduced in 2014, of which the last was six years ago.

Crucially, those bets were deemed to be of a low value and none was in relation to clubs that the individual was involved with at the time. The majority of the manager’s betting was understood to be on horse racing – which would not breach any FA rules – and it is reported that he had gambled almost £1 million across various betting accounts.

Toney received his ban for 232 breaches over a four-year period but former Newcastle player Jack Colback was charged with misconduct by the FA for making one bet – a losing £100 flutter on a Champions League tie between Bayern Munich and Juventus – and was fined £25,000. Kyle Lafferty was also fined £23,000 when he was at Norwich City for betting on two Spanish games.

The FA believe that its approach with the manager was consistent with similar cases. “We take all allegations of potential betting breaches very seriously, and we conducted a full and thorough investigation into this matter,” said a spokesperson. “With all aspects fully considered, the case was closed, and the individual was issued with a formal warning.

“The reports that suggest that this has been a secret process are categorically incorrect. There are legal restrictions on us being able to name the individual, which are unconnected with the betting matter.”