Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has been charged by the SFA after being found guilty of betting on over 40 football matches. The offences were allegedly taking place between July and September this year.
The 34-year-old has until the 12th of October to respond to his charge with a hearing scheduled for the 27th. One of the matches Barton allegedly bet on involved Rangers’ city rivals Celtic, betting on them to suffer a heavy loss to Barcelona in the Champions League.
The ex-Newcastle, Burnley and QPR midfielder is currently suspended by the Glasgow club after an ‘internal dispute’. It is believed that Barton said “inappropriate things” to fellow team-mate Andy Halliday. His future at Rangers was already in doubt due to this ‘internal dispute’ and this latest revelation has cast it further in doubt.
Similar betting breaches have occurred in Scotland recently with former Rangers players Ian Black and Steve Simonsen being involved. Black played for Rangers between 2012 and 2015 and bet on numerous matches that he played in. He was eventually suspended for three games after betting on over 140 matches.
His team-mate Steve Simonsen also was charged with betting offences, with the goalkeeper breaking the rules on 55 occasions and receiving a one-match ban.
Partick Thistle midfielder Steven Lawless received the lengthiest ban as he was suspended for six games for betting on over 500 matches between 2012 and 2015.
