June 5 – Andros Townsend, one of the most promising young wingers in English football, has been banned from the game for four months, three of them suspended, and fined £18,000 after breaching betting regulations.
The Tottenham Hotspur player, who has been on loan to Queens Park Rangers, received the sanction – backdated to May 23 when he voluntarily withdrew from the England squad for this summer’s European under-21 finals after being charged – from an independent regulatory commission.
A statement released by the Football Association revealed that the three months of the ban have been suspended until July 1, 2016. They will be automatically invoked upon a proven breach of the FA’s betting rules during that period.
With Townsend’s ban effectively reduced to one month, the 21-year-old will be available for the start of next season but his punishment sent out a strong message to his fellow professionals. Townsend was not accused of betting on matches he had any involvement in, but the English FA forbid gambling by players on a wide spectrum of games.
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