- Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier has been banned for 12 games due to violating the English FA’s anti-gambling rules
- Hearing found Trippier provided inside information to a bettor regarding his transfer from Spurs to Atletico in the summer of 2019
- Atleti remain +120 favorites to win La Liga title
Atletico Madrid right-back Kieran Trippier has reportedly been suspended from all competitions for 10 weeks after he was found to have broken the English Football Association’s anti-betting rules. The ban is effective immediately, and it means Trippier will not be allowed to participate for club or country in a total of 12 games in all competitions.
Trippier denied any wrongdoing, but a total of four charges against him were proven to be true during a recent hearing. His penalties include a fine of $94,000 in addition to his suspension. Trippier’s offenses date back to July of 2019 when he left Tottenham Hotspur to join Atleti on a lucrative transfer. Three other charges were dismissed by the independent regulatory commission.
Trippier’s Betting Violation
The FA’s betting rules say,
“Where a participant provides to any other person any information relating to football which the participant has obtained by virtue of his or her position within the game and which is not publicly available at that time, the participant shall be in breach of this rule where any of that information is used by that other person for, or in relation to, betting.”
Betting on player transfers is legal in the United Kingdom. The accusation claims that Trippier informed a third party of his plans to move from Spurs to Atleti before that news became known to the public. That person was then able to place a wager on the transfer and profited off of Trippier’s inside information.
Atletico Madrid are reportedly furious at the news. Per Dermot Corrigan, the club still considers Trippier to be available for squad selection because the terms of the ban have not been officially communicated to them.
Atletico say that Trippier is still available to play for them, FA have never contacted them about the case or ban, and option of appeal still there: https://t.co/24ZsklVasH
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) December 23, 2020
At the time he was charged back in May, Trippier issued a statement that said,
“I want to make it clear that while a professional footballer, I have at no stage placed any football-related bets or received any financial benefit from others betting.”
Trippier has been a stalwart in Diego Simeone’s side this season. The 30-year-old has played every single minute of the season for Atleti in both La Liga and Champions League play, so his absence will certainly be noticeable.
He has contributed four assists in all competitions for the Spanish side this season after playing a starring role during England’s run to the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Atletico Are Champions League Long Shots
Trippier will miss Atleti’s round-of-16 home game against Chelsea in Champions League scheduled for February 23. However, he will be eligible to return to action before the second leg at Stamford Bridge on March 17. His suspension will officially come to an end on February 28.
Atletico are currently on top of the La Liga table after a huge 2-0 triumph over Real Sociedad on Tuesday. Atleti have amassed 32 points from just 13 games with a record of 10-2-1 in the league. That puts them three points clear of intracity rivals Real Madrid, and six points ahead of Sociedad.
As of this writing, Atletico are actually near the bottom when it comes to their odds to win this season’s Champions League. Simeone’s side are listed at +2500 to win Europe’s top prize, which puts them on par with the likes of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, and Sevilla.
Last year’s winners, Bayern Munich, have the best odds at +275, followed by Manchester City (+450), Liverpool (+650), and Juventus (+1100).
However, Atleti are the current frontrunners when it comes to claiming the Spanish top-flight title. Their aforementioned win over Sociedad improved their La Liga title odds all the way to +120, which puts them just in front of Real Madrid (+125). Barcelona (+500) are a distant third as their season of discontent continues.
Atletico are in search of their first La Liga crown since winning the league back in 2013-14. The side have also finished as runners-up in Champions League twice since then, but the club has never won the competition.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …
