The Football Association has published its written reasons for banning Joey Barton on betting charges, revealing the player’s 18-month suspension was the “shortest possible” it could consider. “As for his age, and the fact he is coming towards the end of his career, the Commission makes these points. He has been breaching the betting rules for a substantial part of that career. At one point he claimed he was as familiar with betting rules as he was with rules on refereeing. We know the rules, I must make that clear, and if they were broken the FA have a role and we respect that.

Source: The Guardian April 27, 2017 17:32 UTC