Daniel Sturridge has just been banned until the end of July, after breaking betting rules in January 2018.
He’s also been fined £75k, not that either punishment will especially cause a millionaire, whose season won’t start until August, too much of an issue!
Bizarrely, Sturridge didn’t make a football bet himself, but instead encouraged his brother to 18 months ago – in regards to his next club.
The statement issued upon Sturridge’s ban explains that our former forward, released by Jurgen Klopp at the beginning of this summer, told his brother Leon to bet on him moving on loan to Sevilla – which of course never happened!
Instead, Sturridge joined West Brom and was relegated, but the information, even though it proved false, was a breach if regulations.
The statement read:
The Regulatory Commission found proved charges 3 and 4, which alleged that, in that same transfer window, Mr Sturridge had instructed his brother, Leon, to bet on a possible move by him (Daniel) to Sevilla FC.
In issuing that instruction, the Regulatory Commission found that, as a matter of fact, Mr Sturridge had provided his brother with inside information for that purpose.
We just hope Sturridge finds a club who will use him as a starting striker.
If he can stay fit, he’s still skilful enough to score goals in one of Europe’s biggest leagues – just probably not for one of Europe’s biggest clubs.