April 10- English football authorities are seeking a blanket ban on all gambling on matches by top-level players and officials following a string of embarrassing betting-related incidents.
The Football Association’s Council has proposed a plan to outlaw gambling on matches of any kind by employees of the top eight tiers of English football.
The proposed rule will go before FA shareholders at their annual general meeting on 21 May. If passed it would mean anyone from the Premier League down to the regional divisions of the game would be prohibited from any football-related gambling activity.
The move comes after a season where a number Premier League players have fallen foul of the rules. Earlier this week, Ronnie Moore, the manager of third-tier Tranmere Rovers became the first manager in the Football League to admit breaching the FA’s current rules in relation to betting. He has already been suspended by his club.
Currently, the rules state that players and officials cannot bet on a match or competition in which they are involved that season and are prohibited from using or passing on inside information. Under the new rules, players, managers and coaches would be banned from betting on any game anywhere in the world.
Quite how this would be enforced is open to question while there is a potential conflict of interest in terms of leagues and clubs having lucrative sponsorship partnerships with betting companies.