By Andrew Warshaw
August 4 – Strict new betting rules previously announced by English football authorities to prevent players, managers, club employees and match officials from gambling on any football-related matter worldwide have now come into effect.
The previous ruling only banned those from betting on a competition with which their club was involved.
Football Association general secretary Alex Horne says the new regulations, which cover the top eight tiers of the game and prohibits betting on any match, be it domestic or anywhere in the world, will close several loopholes in the fight against match-fixing. Betting on off-field developments such as managerial sackings and player transfers are also banned.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Andros Townsend, striker Cameron Jerome – who was on loan at Crystal Palace from Stoke last season – and Dan Gosling, who has joined Championship club Bournemouth, are among the players who have breached current betting regulations and have been fined accordingly. Several arrests and prosecutions have also occurred in English semi-professional football.
With a massive rise in online betting sites and a constant string of match-fixing cases across the world, the FA is attempting to put its own house in order.
“We are really proud of the integrity of the game in this country and it is really important people trust the integrity of what is happening on the pitch,” Horne told the Press Association. “We want to keep our message as simple as possible – and it cannot be more simple that as a player you cannot bet at all on football. There have been some cases and prosecutions [for match-fixing] in this country and we don’t want to see it. “
As part of its educational promotion, the FA have drafted in former Italian player and currently Aston Villa academy coach Simone Farina – a FIFA ambassador for fair play – to help get the message across.
In 2011 Farina famously refused to take a bribe during a Coppa Italia match and turned whistle-blower, his evidence leading to 17 arrests. “Footballers need to be strong and say no to match-fixing,” said Farina, who went to the Italian police after being offered €200,000 to throw a match, said in a video on the FA’s website.
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