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Manchester City's Demichelis fined £22K for betting on matches

Carl Recine / Reuters

Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis won't serve a ban after accepting a charge for betting on football matches, but he will have to pay a £22,058 fine to the Football Association (FA).

The Argentine also received a warning from the FA.

"The Manchester City defender breached FA Rule E8 in respect of 29 bets placed on football matches between 22 January 2016 and 15 February 2016," reads a statement from the governing body.

Rule E8 states the following: "A Participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on - (i) the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, a football match or competition; or (ii) any other matter concerning or related to football anywhere in the world, including, for example and without limitation, the transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or disciplinary matters."

The 35-year-old central defender, who made 31 appearances for the Citizens this season, was charged for his transgressions in March and didn't contest them.

His lenient punishment likely stems from the fact he hadn't bet on any matches in which he was directly involved, nor any contests in which he could've impacted the action on the pitch.

As noted by the Guardian, the languid veteran isn't the first Premier League player to be charged in relation to betting offences. Andros Townsend was given a four-month ban and fined £18,000 while a member of Tottenham in 2013, though three months of that ban were suspended.

Cameron Jerome, playing for Stoke City at the time, was fined £50,000 the same year, while former Newcastle midfielder Dan Gosling had to cough up £30,000 in 2014.

Betting on football has been prohibited for those involved in the game since August 2014, when a worldwide ban was put into effect.

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