9 Premier League Footballers Who Were Caught Betting On The Game

Football betting sites have a responsibility to report suspicious betting activity to the relevant authorities immediately, and several high-profile current and former Premier League stars have faced time on the sidelines over it.

With Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali now facing a 10-month ban for breaching betting regulations in Italy, we have taken a look at the high-profile footballers who have fallen foul of the sport’s gambling rules.

Ivan Toney

Toney is currently suspended until the middle of January, by which time he will not have played competitive football for eight months. 

The Brentford striker admitted 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules. Toney was found to have bet on games involving his parent or loan club on 29 occasions. 

He tipped his side to lose 13 times, although the forward was not involved in any of those games.

Kieran Trippier

Trippier was hit with a 10-week ban from football and a fine worth £70,000 in December 2020. 

The then-Atletico Madrid defender was charged with seven breaches of a regulation which forbids players from passing on inside information that is not publicly available.

Trippier was found to have advised a friend to “lump on” shortly before his move from Tottenham Hotspur to Atletico in the summer of 2019. 

An independent regulatory commission rejected his claim that it was just “banter”.

Joey Barton

Barton was twice banned for gambling offences during his playing career.

In November 2016, he was suspended for one game by the Scottish Football Association due to a gambling incident during his time at Rangers.

The midfielder was later banned for 18 months by the Football Association, although this was reduced to five months on appeal. 

Barton was accused of placing 1260 bets on football matches between 2006 and 2013.

Cameron Jerome

Jerome escaped a ban after he admitted breaching betting rules, but the then-Stoke City striker was slapped with a £50,000 fine following an independent hearing. 

There was no evidence that Jerome betted on matches involving himself or his team, but he was nevertheless warned about his future conduct.

Jerome, who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers in League One, has not been implicated in any similar incidents since.

Read Up On The Bruce Grobbelaar Betting & Bribery Scandal

Daniel Sturridge

In July 2019, Sturridge was banned for six weeks after it emerged that he had provided his brother with inside information about a potential transfer from Liverpool to Sevilla the previous year. 

But things got worse for the former England international, who was capped 26 times by his country. 

The Football Association appealed the ban, arguing it was too lenient, and Sturridge saw his suspension increased to four months. The striker left Turkish side Trabzonspor as a result.

Matthew Le Tissier

Le Tissier’s alleged betting offences only came to light after he had retired - and the source of the information was the man himself. 

In his autobiography, the Southampton legend admitted that he and some friends conspired to make money from a wager on the time of the first throw-in in a Premier League.

The plan was hatched for Southampton’s game against Wimbledon in 1995 but it did not go to plan, and no one made any money. Le Tissier was cleared by Hampshire police in 2009.

Dan Gosling

During his time at Newcastle United, Gosling was fined £30,000 for failing to follow betting regulations. 

The midfielder admitted to multiple charges, but he escaped a suspension despite confirmed “misconduct in relation to betting”.

Gosling was warned as to his future conduct, but he has not been involved in any subsequent offences. 

The former Everton man is currently a free agent after leaving Watford earlier this year.

Visit our Responsible Gambling Center for help, education, guidance and access to further resources.

Andros Townsend

Townsend was banned from the game for four months (although three of those months were suspended) and fined £18,000 for breaching gambling rules in 2013. 

The then-Tottenham winger did not bet on matches involving his team.

Townsend later revealed that he once lost £46,000 in one night while betting on his phone as a young player on loan at Birmingam City.

Martin Demichelis

Demichelis avoided a ban in 2016 after he admitted he was in breach of betting rules. 

The Argentine defender, who was playing for Manchester City at the time, was instead fined just over £22,000.

Demichelis was found to have placed 29 bets on football over a three-week period in early 2016. The centre-back left City when his contract expired at the end of that season.