Former England & Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has accepted a fine of £8,000 charged by the Football Association after he was found guilty of breaking football betting rules.
The former Manchester United midfielder was charged in April for placing 140 bets on football matches between August 2015 and January 2019 while acting as co-owner of Salford City. The FA has strict rules which prohibit those involved in football from betting on outcomes.
“I would like to apologise and I understand and fully accept the fine imposed by the FA,” said Scholes in a statement.”
“It was a genuine mistake and was not done with any deliberate intention to flout the rules.”
“I wrongly believed that as long as there was no personal connection between me and any of the matches that I bet upon, then there would be no issue. However I understand now that this is not the case and I should have taken steps to verify this at the time.”
Earlier this year, Scholes briefly took over as manager of Oldham Athletic, lasting just 31 days in the role before resigning, with issues behind the scenes proving to be decisive in his decision to walk from the club.
Overall, the bets placed by Scholes totalled £26,159 and he made a profit of £5,831.
