FA ban Spurs winger over betting

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.”

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