Tottenham winger Andros Townsend has been banned from all football and for four months, three of which are suspended.
Townsend breached betting regulations and voluntarily withdrew from the England Under-21 squad for this month’s European Championships in Israel.
An independent regulatory commission hearing imposed the sanction, which has been backdated to May 23rd.
A statement released by the Football Association revealed that the three months of the ban have been suspended until July 1 2016.
They will be automatically invoked upon a proven breach of the FA’s betting rules during that period.
“Townsend, who was also fined £18,000, was charged for breaches of FA Rule E8(b) for misconduct in relation to betting, which he admitted and requested a personal hearing,” read the statement.
With Townsend’s ban effectively reduced to one month, the 21-year-old will be available for the start of the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season.
Townsend used his Twitter account to say he would not appeal the sanctions. “Following a personal hearing at the FA and the statement issued today, I fully accept the disciplinary action and shall not be appealing,” Townsend wrote.
“This has been a regrettable experience from which I fully intend to come back stronger…now I’m fully focused on returning to football during pre-season & determined for this indiscretion to not tarnish my career moving forward.”