Trippier’s 10-week ban was recently suspended by Fifa
Kieran Trippier told friends to ‘lump on,’ in the days leading up to his move from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019, the Football Association’s independent regulatory commission has revealed.
The England full-back was handed a £70,000-fine and a 10-week playing ban last month in relation to breaching betting rules but this was suspended by Fifa over the weekend following an appeal.
Information detailing the FA’s decision for the punishment has now revealed the former Burnley defender kept his friends up to speed with developments regarding his imminent transfer to Spain via a series of WhatsApp messages.
The commission dismissed the defender’s claims the messages were “banter”, finding him guilty of four out of seven different charges.
The independent regulatory commission’s written reasons for its decisions and the associated sanction for this case have now been published here: https://t.co/kJMU9xZ3Ju.
— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) January 5, 2021
The 30-year-old’s friend Oliver Hawley placed 10 separate bets, the highest of which was £65, on him completing a move to Atleti.
Trippier allowed his phone to be examined by the FA as part of their investigation, and it was later found that after one of his bets, Hawley sent him a message saying: ‘6/1 Athletico (sic) Madrid’, to which he responded with laughing emojis.
Trippier later messaged Hawley to say ‘It’s happening’, with Hawley placing two more bets on the move soon after.
Days later, Matthew Brady, another of Trippier’s friends asked via a message: ‘Shall I lump on you going there?’, to which he replied: ‘Lump on if you want mate.’
Hawley and another two of Trippier’s friends placed further bets on the move as it drew closer to completion, one as much as £300.
Trippier later informed a WhatsApp friends’ group that the deal was ‘done’, and received a message from Brady saying: ‘Could only put a little bit on mate, they massively restricted the bet, keep me posted pal’.
‘No worries mate,’ he replied.
Trippier is expected to make his return to the Atletico squad for their Copa del Rey tie away at Segunda B side Cornella this week after the decision to pause his suspension.
