Joey Barton calls for FA to ease up on ‘draconian’ betting rules in wake of Daniel Sturridge investigation
The Liverpool striker is waiting to find out if he will be punished for allegedly breaching football betting rules.
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JOEY BARTON has called on the FA to revise their "hard line" approach to gambling regulations.
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is waiting to find out if he will be punished for allegedly breaching football betting rules.
He has until 6pm on Tuesday 20 November to formally respond to the charge.
Sturridge, 29, vehemently denies ever gambling on football.
Barton, now manager at League One outfit Fleetwood, was handed an initial 18-month ban by the FA for gambling offences two years ago while he was on Burnley’s books.
The midfielder broke FA rules by placing 1,260 bets on matches between 26 March 2006 and 13 May 2016.
Barton, who amazingly claimed earlier this year that "50 per cent" of footballers bet on matches, insists the FA need to soften their approach in regards to betting rules.
He told Sky Sports News: "They have to revise their approach.
DANIEL STURRIDGE BETTING CHARGE
Rule E8(1)(a)(ii) This states that a player "shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on - (i) the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in or in connection with, a football match or competition; or (ii) any other matter concerning or related to football anywhere in the world".
Rule E8(1)(b) This bans players from providing information for use in betting, "which the participant has obtained by virtue of his or her position within the game and which is not publicly available at that time".
"The players that are getting exposed and banned for it are really the tip of the iceberg.
"There's a lot of people who have vested interest in promoting and advertising gambling, I don't think it's a problem with that.
"I just think it's a problem when we ban something that is clearly a massive part of our game and then we start banning players for it."
Sturridge's charges are based on alleged incidents from January.
Barton's ban was reduced to five months on appeal after he successfully argued his addiction to gambling should be a mitigating factor in his punishment.
However, he was subsequently released by Burnley and never played professionally again.
Current rules prohibit players from England's top eight tiers betting on football - a situation Barton feels is illogical.
Barton added: "I'm not saying we should allow betting on games because obviously it would probably hurt the integrity of the sport but I think we need to be a bit more 21st century about our approach.
"I do think the rule here is a little bit too draconian, a little bit too hard line.
"What difference does it make if a player in the Premier League is betting on the Brazilian league, how can he influence that?
"The zero-tolerance approach is clearly always going to have casualties."
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