The FA has handed a three-and-a-half-year ban to former Shrewsbury and Cheltenham striker Ryan Bowman for gambling-related offences.
The 33-year-old confessed to placing 6,397 bets between 15 June 2022 – 13 September 2023. A total 108 of these bets were linked to matches involving Exeter City during the time he was playing for the team.
Similarly, an additional 243 bets were connected to fixtures involving Shrewsbury Town while he was part of the team there.
The FA’s E8 rule, which remains unchanged since season 2018-19, reads: “A Participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, cause or enable any person to bet on the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in or in connection with a football match of competition.”
Bowman made an overall loss across all the bets that he placed, and so authorities are likely satisfied that the bets are merely breaches of the E8 rule and that there is no indication of match fixing.
The FA also highlighted that he has ‘no previous record’ of any other similar instances.
Shrewsbury Town said in a statement: “The club were first made aware Ryan had broken betting rules after being contacted by the FA, though the extent of the charges remained unclear at the time.
“While we are disappointed with the severity of the offences, we have done everything in our power to support Ryan and his family.”
False accounts, real consequences
It was revealed that Bowman had been using other people’s accounts, which the Commission described as “no doubt a further attempt to hide his extensive football betting activity, which he knew at all material times, was against the rules”.
The FA did however assert that Bowman has co-operated and admitted all charges, but made it important to note that the level of co-operation provided is “significantly tempered” by his position at interview and deletion of data.
Cheltenham Town FC, which signed Bowman for a year last July, stated that it had not been made aware of the full extent of the incidents until October.
“Club officials supported Ryan through what has been a difficult time for him and despite his departure from Cheltenham Town this summer, again we would like to place on record our thanks to him and wish him and his family all the best for the future,” the club said.
Bowman’s confession is the latest in a series of prominent instances of breaches of gambling rules occurring either within UK sports and by UK sportspeople.
You would think Bowman would have taken note of the Lucas Paquetá, Austen Booth and Ivan Toney cases, where all players were found guilty by the FA of similar betting-related offenses and faced significant repercussions.
Toney’s case in particular saw the now-Saudi Pro League player receive an eight-month suspension, banned from all football and football-related activities until 17 January 2024, and fined £50,000.
The incident may also re-raise concerns around betting’s visibility in sport, with many reform advocates having argued in the past that footballers often play for teams with betting sponsors while being strictly banned from betting on the sport themselves.
This incident comes just a couple of days after Liberal Democrat MPs attempted to write amendments into the Football Governance Bill that would effectively end betting sponsorship in the sport, though this was rejected in the Commons.
