IT’S been said to be over several times, but now the playing career of of former Rangers player Joey Barton really is finished, according to the man himself.
True to form, Barton went out on a highly controversial note after he was suspended from all football activity for 18 months after he admitted a Football Association misconduct charge related to betting.
Barton is alleged to have placed 1,260 bets on football matches between March 2006 and May 2013, contrary to FA rules.
In an extraordinary admission, Barton released a statement giving details of the scale of his football gambling and even listed the 30 games he bet on that the FA’s independent regulatory commission flagged up as the most problematic, as they involved his clubs at the time, although he was only actually playing in five of these fixtures.
These 30 bets were made between 2006 and 2011 and resulted in only three wins and losses of more than £3,000.
Barton admitted he placed over 15,000 bets since 2004 on a range of sports, including the more than 1,200 on football, and says the average bet has been for just over £150.
Addressing the central issue that he made several bets on his own team to lose, he stressed that he had “given everything” in every game he has played and was not involved in the match squads for any of those games.
He wrote: “I had no more ability to influence the outcome than had I been betting on darts, snooker, or a cricket match in the West Indies.
“One thing I can state with absolute certainty – I have never placed a bet against my own team when in a position to influence the game, and I am pleased that in all of the interviews with the FA, and at the hearing, my integrity on that point has never been in question.”
Capped once for England, the 34-year-old midfielder started his career with Manchester City and has played for Newcastle, QPR, Marseille and Rangers, whom he left in hugely controversial circumstances earlier this season following a massive row with then manager Mark Warburton.
Almost as soon as he left Ibrox, he was given a one-match ban for breaking Scottish Football Association rules on gambling.
A short statement from Burnley said Barton will appeal against the length of the ban, but he said on his personal website: “The decision effectively forces me into an early retirement from playing football.
“I accept that I broke the rules governing professional footballers, but I do feel the penalty is heavier than it might be for other less controversial players.”
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