Newcastle United midfielder Dan Gosling has been charged by the FA for breaking betting regulations, the club announced Monday. He is the second club representative to face discipline in the last week, after Alan Pardew was charged for violent conduct for headbutting David Meyler in last week's victory over Hull City.
Gosling is specifically charged with breaking Rule E8(b), which reads:
(b) Save for those Participants subject to the prohibition in sub-paragraph (a), a Participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on -
(i) the result, progress or conduct of a match or competition:
(A) in which the Participant is participating, or has participated in that season; or
(B) in which the Participant has any influence, either direct or indirect; or
(ii) any other matter concerning or related to any Club participating in any league Competition, as defined in Rule A2, that the Participant is participating in or has participated in during that season, including, for example and without limitation, the transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or disciplinary matters.For these purposes, without limitation to the application of this Rule to other circumstances, all Employees of a Club are deemed to participate in every match played by that Club while they are so employed; all Players registered with a Club are deemed to participate in every match played by that Club while they are so registered.
Based on the language of the rule, Gosling's charge could be a result of betting on any of Newcastle United's competitions from this season, so the infraction could be a result of any action on the Premier League or either of the domestic cups. The charge does not necessarily mean that he bet on Newcastle United in any way, as some online outlets are suggesting.
The FA appears to be cracking down on their betting regulations. It is not believed that any players had been charged for breaking any part of Rule E8 before this season, but Gosling makes the third player to receive such a charge. Previously Andros Townsend of Tottenham Hotspur was effectively banned for one month over the summer and fined £18,000 for an unknown infraction of the rule (The Telegraph), and Stoke City's Cameron Jerome was fined £50,000 for "a number of breaches" of the rules unrelated to betting on his own club. (BBC Sport) Gosling is also charged with "multiple breaches," according to the NUFC statement, and the nature of the betting is unknown. If the circumstances are similar, the punishment could be commensurate with the one Jerome received.
Gosling's hearing date has not yet been set.