Swansea player gets £700 fine for breaching betting rules

The Football Association has moved to uphold its betting laws again by giving Swansea City’s James Demetriou a severe warning as to his future conduct and fined £700 after admitting multiple breaches of FA Rule E8 in relation to betting.

The charges related to 13 bets placed on football matches between 3 December 2013 and 21 January 2015. The FA has not revealed the games on which Demetriou bet on, but the sporting organisation introduced a blanket ban on any one involved in the sport betting on any football competition at the start of last season. The 19-year old has yet to make his senior debut for the Swans after joining the Welsh side from Nottingham Forest last August.

Last month Ipswich Town’s Edward Bishop was fined £3,000 after he admitted multiple breaches of FA Rule E8 in relation to betting.

The FA’s educational video on its new betting rules

The FA’s Rule E8

(1) (a) A Participant 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, a football match or competition; or
(ii) any other matter concerning or related to football anywhere
in the world, including, for example and without limitation, the
transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or
disciplinary matters.
The terms ‘football match’ and ‘competition’ as used in sub-paragraph
E8(1)(a)(i) include any Match or Competition (as appropriate) as defined
in Rule A2, and also include any other football match or competition
not within those definitions in Rule A2, including but not limited to any
football match or competition sanctioned by UEFA, or FIFA, or by any
other association, federation or governing body.
(b) Where a Participant provides to any other person any information
relating to football 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 Participant shall be in breach of this Rule where any of that
information is used by that other person for, or in relation to, betting.
(c) It shall be a defence to a charge brought pursuant to sub-paragraph E8(1)(b)
if a Participant can establish, on the balance of probability, that the
Participant provided any such information in circumstances where he
did not know, and could not reasonably have known, that the information
provided would be used by the other person for or in relation to betting.
(2) (a) A Participant 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, a football match or competition:
(A) in which the Participant is participating, or has
participated in that season; or
(B) in which the Participant has any influence, either direct
or indirect; or
(ii) any other matter concerning or related to any Club participating
in any league Competition, as defined in Rule A2, that the
Participant is participating in or has participated in during
that season, including, for example and without limitation, the
transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or
disciplinary matters.
For these purposes, without limitation to the application of this Rule to
other circumstances, all Employees and Officials of a Club are deemed to
participate in every football match played by that Club while they are so
employed or acting as a Club Official; all Players registered with a Club are
deemed to participate in every football match played by that Club while
they are so registered.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-paragraph E8(2)(a), a Participant
shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or
enable any person to bet, on the result, progress, conduct or any other
aspect of, or occurrence in, any football match played at under 18 level or
below.
The terms ‘football match’ and ‘competition’ as used in sub-paragraphs
E8(2)(a) and E8(2)(b) include any Match or Competition (as
appropriate) as defined in Rule A2, and also include any other football
match or competition not within those definitions in Rule A2, including
but not limited to any football match or competition sanctioned by
UEFA, or FIFA, or by any other association, federation or governing body.
(c) A Participant shall not use any information relating to football which the
Participant has obtained by virtue of his or her position within the game
and which is not publicly available at that time for or in relation to betting.
(d) Where a Participant provides to any other person any information
relating to football 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 Participant shall be in breach of this Rule where any of that
information is used by that other person for or in relation to betting.
(e) It shall be a defence to a charge brought pursuant to sub-paragraph E8(2)(d)
if a Participant can establish, on the balance of probability, that the
Participant provided any such information in circumstances where he
did not know, and could not reasonably have known, that the information
provided would be used by the other person for or in relation to betting.
(3) An individual Participant, when acting in a personal capacity, shall not be permitted
to advertise or promote any betting activity that the Participant is prohibited from
engaging in by Rule E8(1) or E8(2).