Joseph Anthony Barton, an English footballer and midfielder of Premier League club Burnley. He has appeared in the Premier League for 240 times, involving 130 appearances for Manchester City.
Joey, the midfielder of Burnley has been banned for 18 months in charge of betting. The 34-years old player has broken FA rules several times by placing 1,260 bets on matches from 26th March 2006 to 13th May 2016.
He has been charged £30,000 for betting and warned about his career as a football player.
Joey Barton admitted that he is addicted to betting. Moreover, he intends to appeal against the suspension because he thinks it is “excessive.”
He stated, ‘I have fought against gambling and given my medical report to the FA. It is disappointing that it was not taken into proper consideration.”
He has done gambling on some matches and he even played in those matches. However, in one of his statements, he says that “I don’t think it is match fixing and nobody should question my integrity at any point.”
He further said, “I admit that I broke laws and rules which are governed for professional footballers but the penalty is much more than the mistake itself. I feel like if it was for some other player, it would be lesser.”
“The whole thing forces me to take retirement earlier.”
On Wednesday, Joey tweeted on his account: “Thanks for all the support. I know I have disobeyed the FA rules but I have been honest with the reasons. Many people agree with me and think that the punishment is OTT.”
The PFA supported him by saying, “sanctions for breaches must be equitable.” They added, “We hope that the same decision has been taken for other cases of a similar nature.”
Joey Barton also said that the FA must do something more to handle the gambling culture in football.
In addition, “If the FA really wants to solve this culture of gambling issue then it needs to take some serious steps. They must know about the gambling companies, their roles in footballs and broadcasting, instead of blaming players who make a bet.”
Players in England’s top eight level are banned from gambling on football but Ladbrokes is an FA partner and 10 Premier League clubs have betting organizations as shirt sponsors.
In January, the former players of Newcastle and Manchester City rejoined Burnley, they left Scottish Premiership in November.
In the same month, he was not allowed to play that one match because he gambled and broke Scottish Football Association rule.
Barton placed 44 bets between 1 July and 15 September 2016 while he was playing for Ibrox, he admitted.
Timeline of Barton’s betting
• 24 May 2016: Joins Rangers from Burnley for two years.
• 19 September 2016: Six weeks ban for a training ground fight.
• 20 September 2016: Investigated by Scottish FA for breaking betting rules.
• 10 November 2016: Both Joey and Rangers agreed to dismiss the contract.
• 17 November 2016: Got suspended for one match as he broke the Scottish FA betting rule.
• 20 December 2016: Rejoined Burnley as a short-term contract.
• 2 February 2017: Admitted that he placed 1,260 bets on matches in last 10 years.
• 26 April 2017: Banned for 18 months.
“I gambled on my own team to lose”
Barton admitted that “he placed over 15,000 bets across the whole sports range since 2004.” Out of which 1,260 were football bets – posting an average of £150 per gambling.
From 2004 to 2011, he placed many bets on his own team but he was not included in the match squad.
“I had no more ability to affect the outcome than had I been gambling on snooker, darts, and cricket matches in the West Indies,” Barton admitted.
Placing a bet against his own team was a kind of revenge. He said, “On some occasions, I placed a bet against my own team because of frustration and anger as they did not pick me to play the match.”
He further said, “I have never gambled on my own team when in a position to effect the game. I have told this in all of the interviews with the FA and the hearings. I am grateful that my integrity about this has never been questioned by anyone.”
In April 2006 in a Premier League game, Barton was the one who made a goal for £3 stake on himself. Later, the City Team-mate Richard Dunne scored the first goal in a 2-1 defeat.
However, Barton says that he is addicted to gambling but most of the people think that the FA took the right decision. On the other hand, many Joey’s fans want him back.