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Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has been charged by the FA with breaching their rules on betting.
According to an FA enquiry the 29-year old is alleged to have infringed one rule relating to betting on football, and another regarding matters relating to football.
Whilst it is not fully clear what his offences were, it is believed to be related to Sturridge’s loan move to West Bromwich Albion in the second-half of the season, with the suspicion being that he bet, or allowed a bet to be placed, on the transfer, taking advantage of information which “is not publicly available”. The implication, therefore, is that even if he did not gamble on the move itself, he may be guilty of insider trading if he passed the information on to others who did place a wager on the transfer.
A Liverpool spokesman said that Sturridge stated “categorically that he has never gambled on football”, and that he is co-operating fully with the enquiry.
Sturridge has been given until November 20th to respond to the charges.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.