Premier League side Burnley midfielder Joey Barton has been charged by the FA for "breaching betting rules," according to Jack de Menezes of the London INDEPENDENT. Barton, who left Scottish Premiership side Rangers in November after "a training ground bust-up," has been "accused of placing 1,260 bets on football matches" between '06 and '16. An FA statement released on Friday read, "Joey Barton has been charged for misconduct in relation to betting." Barton has been given until Jan. 5 to respond to the charge, though he was eligible to play in Burnley's Boxing Day match against Middlesbrough if Manager Sean Dyche had deemed him "fit enough," as well as EPL matches against Sunderland on New Year's Eve and Man City on Jan. 2 (INDEPENDENT, 12/23). The LONDON TIMES reported "the 34-year-old was handed a one-match suspension for breaking Scottish Football Association betting rules during his short stint at Rangers." Barton "admitted breaching the SFA's zero-tolerance rules," which forbid players gambling on any match. Barton's Scottish suspension will carry over into his Burnley career. It comes just three days after Burnley revealed that Barton would be re-signing for the club (LONDON TIMES, 12/23).
