Joey Barton banned 18 months after admitting to betting charge
Burnley midfielder Joey Barton has been suspended from "football and all football activity" for 18 months following his admission to a misconduct charge in relation to betting, the Football Association announced Wednesday.
The suspension stems from allegations that Barton, who has also been charged £30,000, placed more than 1,200 bets on football matches and individual performances over a 10-year span beginning in 2006.
A statement on the FA's website reads: "Joey Barton has been suspended from football and all football activity for 18 months with immediate effect after he admitted an FA misconduct charge in relation to betting.
"It was alleged that between 26 March 2006 and 13 May 2016, he placed 1,260 bets on the result, progress, conduct, or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, football matches or competitions in breach of FA Rule E8.
"Following the Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, the Burnley midfielder was also fined £30,000 and warned as to his future conduct."
Shortly after the suspension was announced, Barton - who was initially charged in February - confirmed he will appeal the length of the ban, as the current ban would likely force the 34-year-old into early retirement. He also made a point of explaining that the charges against him have nothing to do with match fixing.
"I am very disappointed at the harshness of the sanction," Barton said on his official website. "The decision effectively forces me into an early retirement from playing football. To be clear from the outset here this is not match fixing and at no point in any of this is my integrity in question.
"I accept that I broke the rules governing professional footballers, but I do feel the penalty is heavier than it might be for other less controversial players. I have fought addiction to gambling and provided the FA with a medical report about my problem. I’m disappointed it wasn’t taken into proper consideration."
Barton also called on the FA to do its part by increasing its efforts to combat the culture of football gambling, "rather than just blaming the players who place a bet."
In November, Barton received a one-match ban for breaking Scottish Football gambling rules while he was a member of Rangers.
He left the Scottish Premiership team later that month before completing a move back to Burnley in January - less than a year after departing the Lancashire outfit.
According to the BBC, allegations against Barton were brought to the FA's attention after a betting company made the English governing body aware.