Barton betting claim probed
EMBATTLED Rangers midfielder Joey Barton is under investigation after allegedly breaking betting rules, British media outlets reported yesterday. The Press Association and severa l British newspapers said t he Scottish Football Association (SFA) was look ing into claims Barton bet on Celtic to lose heav ily prior to t heir 7-0 Champions League defeat at Barcelona last week.
Betting on football matches by players is strictly forbidden by the SFA and Barton, 34, could face a ban if found guilty.
A Rangers spokeswoman said the club was not commenting on the matter.
The news comes after Barton was banned from the club for three weeks on Monday over a training-ground row that occurred following Rangers’ 5-1 loss to Glasgow rivals Celtic.
It has prompted speculation that he may have already played his last game for the club.
After being asked if he was still a Rangers player, Barton told Sky Sports: “I think so.”
The combative English midfielder signed a two-year contract with Rangers in May following their promotion to the Scottish Premiership.
In newspaper interviews conducted last week and published yesterday, he expressed regret over moving north of the border.
“Reflecting on it, would I have made the same decision [to join Rangers]? Probably not,” he told the Guardian.
Barton, who was told to stay away from the Glasgow club for most of last week, met at Rangers’ Ibrox ground with manager Mark Warburton and board members.
The club then issued a statement saying: “Joey Barton has today been suspended by the club and will not return to Ibrox or Auchenhowie for a period of three weeks.
“The manager, Mark Warburton, and club believe that time and space is required for both the club and the player to assess all that has happened.
“Neither party will make any further statement or comment on this issue.”
Barton, 34, was told to “re-evaluate the way I’m thinking” after a fierce row with teammate Andy Halliday following Rangers’ to Celtic, the reigning Scottish champions.
Barton missed Rangers’ goalless draw at home to Ross County on Saturday. Warburton, Rangers’ English manager, refused to discuss former Newcastle United and Manchester City player Barton’s situation after the game, saying it was an “internal matter”. But by then Barton had already gone public with his version of events at Rangers’ training ground last Tuesday during a live interview on London-based radio station talkSPORT on Friday
Stay away from the club
Barton insisted that he was “as committed to Rangers as the day I signed”, but a lso hinted at criticism of the way Warburton had handled t he situation.
“We’re asked for an opinion and I’m someone who gives an opinion,” Barton said on Friday. “Two passionate Rangers players have then shared opinions on how we get better as a team and what’s going wrong for us. It’s nothing more and nothing less than that.”
Barton, who signed a t wo-year contract in pre-season, added: “The way it’s been handled is strange. When you look at my histor y and you’re told to stay away from t he club, it does look like something more has happened, and that’s why I’ve decided to get on the radio and speak, because it’s wrong.”
Barton’s suspension will see him miss Scottish Premiership games against Aberdeen and Partick Thistle.
Barton, who has a chequered disciplinary record, also played for Queens Park Rangers and Marseille.