Euro football law: betting breach, fine for abusive behaviour, overcharged fans and Hearts woes continue

This week Adam Lovatt and Tom Gibby report during a quieter week on a number of smaller stories that caught the football headlines. These include a manager’s sacking for betting misconduct; unfair ticket pricing; a homophobic gesture; and a club requesting an advance payment of prize money to stay alive.

Manager sacked over betting breach

As this blog discussed a couple of weeks ago, the FA had charged a number of professional players with breaches of its betting rules. Readers may recall that, under rule E8(b), participants (effectively, any club employee/worker) are prohibited from ‘‘instructing, permitting, causing or enabling’’ betting ‘‘by any person’’ on ‘‘the result, progress or conduct of’’ games in which that person is ‘‘participating in, has participated in…or has any influence on’’.

Now, a statement released on April 9 by English League One club Tranmere Rovers reveals that they have terminated the employment of their manager Ronnie Moore, who had been with the club since March 2012, for misconduct; the grounds being his admission of multiple breaches of the FA’s above betting rules. The club’s board of directors implied Moore’s actions endangered the integrity of the club. From an employment law perspective, his behaviour breached the mutual obligation of trust and confidence owed between employer and employee and thus went to the heart of his employment contract; entitling them to terminate his employment.

Moore had been suspended by the club since 17 February after the FA announced it was to begin an investigation into his betting behaviour, and was charged at the end of March with the above breaches. He responded yesterday with an admission of the charge, requesting a personal hearing.

Source articles:

https://www.lawinsport.com/sports/football/item/bayern-president-tax-case-players-gambling-manager-banned-for-head-butt-racism-allegations-and-bskyb-win-ip-case?category_id=153

https://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/news/article/ronnie-moore-statement-090414-1478348.aspx

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26955823

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26824266