English FA bans players who bet on match

London: Four players who bet on an English League Two (fourth division) match involving their own clubs were banned for between five months and a year by the English FA on Wednesday.James Harris, Robert Williams and David Mannix, Accrington Stanley players at the time, and then Bury player Andrew Mangan were found to be in "blatant breach of the rules" by the FA regulatory commission after betting on visiting team Bury to win on May 3, 2008, the FA said on its website.

Harris, who played in the match which Bury won 2-0, was suspended immediately from all soccer activities for one year, while Mannix and Williams were banned for 10 months and eight months respectively. Mangan was banned for five months. The players also received fines of between 2,000 and 5,000 pounds. "The FA rules restricting betting by players (and others) on matches or competitions in which they are involved are vital to ensure public confidence in the integrity of football and the absolute straightness of all football matches," Nicholas Stewart, chairman of the regulatory commission which carried out the investigation, said on the FA website. Bureau Report