FA and Spurs team up to treat gambling addict Andros after betting charge
Tottenham winger Andros Townsend will have treatment for a gambling problem at the Sporting Chance clinic in Hampshire after being charged by the Football Association with betting offences.
The 21-year-old midfielder, who was on loan at QPR between January and the end of the season, withdrew from the England Under-21 squad for this summer’s European Championship in Israel when the charges became public on Friday.
Townsend’s betting activity is not connected to match-fixing although sources say it was flagged up by bookmakers to the FA as ‘irregular’.
Charged: Andros Townsend will receive treatment for a gambling problem
It is believed he had been involved in‘significant’ bets, perhaps as big as five figures, on multiple games, including in the Premier League, although not games in which he played.
FA rules forbid any player from betting on any competition in which they are involved, including any match in the same division or same cup tournament in which their team have any interest.
The Gambling Act obliges bookmakers who are aware of any sportsman contravening their own sport’s betting rules to report it.
It is not clear when or how many bookies reported Townsend’s activity but one industry source said: ‘It would take excessive activity in something he shouldn’t be involved in to trigger a report.’
An FA statement said: ‘The Tottenham Hotspur player has been charged with breaches of Rule E8 (b) in relation to a number of betting offences. The player has until June 3 to respond to the charges.’
The statement said Townsend would receive the ‘full support’ of the FA and Spurs ‘in seeking rehabilitation whilst responding to the allegations’.
Dozens of footballers, including England internationals, have received help from Sporting Chance in recent years for gambling addictions.
FA Rule E8 (b)
Save for those Participants subject to the prohibition in sub-paragraph (a), a Participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on –
(i) the result, progress or conduct of a match or competition:
(A) in which the Participant is participating, or has participated in that season; or
(B) in which the Participant has any influence, either direct or indirect; or
(ii) any other matter concerning or related to any Club participating in any league Competition, as defined in Rule A2, that the Participant is participating in or has participated in during that season, including, for example and without limitation, the transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or disciplinary matters.
For these purposes, without limitation to the application of this Rule to other circumstances, all Employees of a Club are deemed to participate in every match played by that Club while they are so employed; all Players registered with a Club are deemed to participate in every match played by that Club while they are so registered.
(i) the result, progress or conduct of a match or competition:
(A) in which the Participant is participating, or has participated in that season; or
(B) in which the Participant has any influence, either direct or indirect; or
(ii) any other matter concerning or related to any Club participating in any league Competition, as defined in Rule A2, that the Participant is participating in or has participated in during that season, including, for example and without limitation, the transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or disciplinary matters.
For these purposes, without limitation to the application of this Rule to other circumstances, all Employees of a Club are deemed to participate in every match played by that Club while they are so employed; all Players registered with a Club are deemed to participate in every match played by that Club while they are so registered.
It is understood Townsend had specifically been warned about the betting regulations earlier in his career but activity this past season led to a deeper FA inquiry into his betting behaviour — and then charges.
Punishments for betting infringements can range from fines to lengthy bans. Four players were banned in 2009 for between five months and a year each, with fines ranging from £2,000 to £5,500 for betting on their own team, Accrington, to lose a League Two game in 2008.
Those punishments reflected the severity of case where match-fixing was suspected but not prosecuted, and where the official disciplinary conclusion expressed ‘serious concerns’ of a fix.
‘TheTownsend case is not at the sinister end of the scale,’ a source says. ‘He’s a good kid with an issue.’
Gambling problems among footballers have been shown in recent times to carry over into other sports.
Former England under-21 striker Michael Chopra was recently banned from any involvement in horse racing for 10 years for his alleged role in race fixing, while only last week the former Chelsea and West Brom defender Neil Clement was banned from racing for 15 years after being found guilty ‘of conspiring to commit a corrupt or fraudulent practice’ in the sport.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2330980/Andros-Townsend-receive-treatment-gambling-addiction.html
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