FA fines two in fresh crackdown on betting rules

The Football Association (FA) has issued a fresh crackdown on breaches of its betting rules after issuing both Yerry Mina and Jordan Stevens with fines and subsequent warnings.

Mina has been handed a £10,000 fine and a warning over his future conduct, while Stevens was also fined £1,200 and a six-week ban from the sport. 

An FA regulatory commission found that Mina had worked alongside Colombian betting company called Betjuego to feature in an advertisement for the brand. The Everton star has since accepted a misconduct charge after the commission heard that the advert was entirely in Spanish and not broadcast outside of Colombia.

A statement released by the FA said: “Yerry Mina has been warned as to his future conduct and fined £10,000 after admitting a misconduct charge in relation to the FA’s betting rules.

“The Everton FC defender breached FA Rule E8(3) by participating in an advertisement for betting activity which he is prohibited from engaging in.”

In response to the charges, Everton had emphasised that the advert in question had only aired for around one month after 24-year-old Mina had demanded it be removed as soon as he was informed that he was in breach of the FA’s betting rules.

Meanwhile Stevens admitted a misconduct charge in relation to The FA’s Betting Rules after it was alleged that he placed 59 bets on football matches between 06 August 2018 and 27 May 2019.

The FA explained in a statement: “The Commission accepts that in this particular case there are a modest amount of bets in total, and the amount staked was similarly modest at £510.12. The Commission had particular regard to the 23 bets which were placed on games in competitions into which Leeds United were entered and, of those 23 bets, the five bets which were placed on games involving his own club. 

“It is notable that three of the bets were placed on Leeds United to win and two were on both teams to score twice. We accept the FA’s submission that those five bets are the most serious aspect of the case.”

Leeds United has stated that it will “support Jordan through this process, he is a young footballer who needs educating on the dangers of outside influences and how to conduct himself as a professional footballer”, but has stated that they believe the punishment to be somewhat “excessive.”

Leeds United chief executive Angus Kinnear commented: “Whilst we fully recognise the importance of the FA’s role in protecting the integrity of the game, we are hugely disappointed in the FA’s choice of sanction.

“To prevent a young footballer from taking part in any football activities at such critical period of his career is a disproportionate punishment following a foolish mistake from a young player.

“We are particularly disappointed that the sanction was determined by two former professional footballers who we hoped would have had a better understanding of the impact of their decision.”