Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has been banned for four months after breaching betting rules according to BBC Sport.
Sturridge was given a six week ban last summer, with four of them suspended. However, the FA appealed this. The appeal board doubled the fine to 150,000 also. Sturridge will now also be looking for a new club after his club, Turkish side, Trabzonspor, terminated his contract by mutual agreement on Monday. The club released a statement. ]In it they said ,”The professional footballer contract signed between our company and our professional footballer Daniel Andre Sturridge, dated 21.08.2019 and ending 31.05.2021 has been mutually terminated”.
Speaking on his Youtube channel Sturridge said he was devastated following the news. He said, “I just want to say it’s been a very long and drawn out process over the last couple of years and difficult to concentrate on my football”. He continued, “I’m going to continue to campaign for professional footballers to be able to speak to their families and close friends freely, without the real risk of being charged”.
The FA also released a statement. In which it said the commission, “misapplied rules in relation to the use of inside information and made findings of fact which could not be sustained”.
Sturridge is banned from football and all football related activity till June 17th. The commission found that the former Liverpool and Chelsea striker instructed his brother to bet on a possible move to Spanish side Sevilla. Sturridge did say that the case as overblown and misconceived and that he gave an honest explanation for texts to his brother.
It is likely a club will come calling in the summer transfer market for Sturridge. He will now obviously be looking for a new club.
