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Joey Barton has been charged by the Football Association for misconduct in relation to betting.
The governing body has said Barton is alleged to have placed 1,260 bets over a 10-year period.
Barton, who earlier this week signed for Burnley until the end of the season, is alleged by the FA to have placed bets between March 26th, 2006 and May 13th, 2016.
The 34-year-old was handed a one-match suspension for breaking Scottish Football Association betting rules during his short stint at Rangers.
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The midfielder admitted breaching the SFA’s zero-tolerance rules, which forbid players gambling on any match.
He placed 44 bets on games between July 1st, 2016 — when his Ibrox deal started — and September 15th.
His Scottish suspension will carry over into his Burnley career.
He has until January 5th, 2017 to respond to the latest FA charge.
Although the news broke just three days after Burnley revealed Barton would be re-signing with them in January, it’s understood the charge has not been announced now just because the midfielder is due to return to English football.
The FA is understood to have been investigating the matter for the past few months having received information from a bookmaker and, given the sheer volume of bets placed over the 10-year period, the probe has taken longer than most cases.
Barton could therefore still have been charged by the national governing body as a free agent.
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