Alan Brazil: A reprieve, but Joey Barton’s career has fizzled out

THERE’S a lot of time wasted on pointless procedure in football.

Another example of that came the other day when Joey Barton’s suspension for breaching betting regulations was cut by five months.

I doubt it will make any difference to Barton’s career.

There’s surely no way he can resume playing at any sort of significant level when the ban is up in June of next year.

He might decide to make a gesture and play for a lower-league club or even a non-league outfit.

It’s more likely he will try to carve out some sort of career in the media.

He’s spent most of his footballing life courting controversy, and broadcasters know that people with strong opinions tend to get them an audience.

You might not like what some people say – but they’re often hard to ignore.

Barton was initially banned for 18 months and fined £30,000 after placing 1260 bets on football matches between 2006 and 2016.

The FA appeal board felt the initial ban was excessive, but they haven’t slashed it.

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again — Joey was a silly boy.

I know he claims he was suffering from an addiction to gambling, but he should certainly have known better than to bet on or against his own club.

Most of the bets, however, were for small amounts of cash.

I don’t have a problem if you’re betting on other games and just trying to use your knowledge of the game.

I don’t make the regulations, though, and I know they’re there to stop any possibility of match-fixing.

You can’t have a situation where a player is tempted to put a few grand on his own team losing.

The FA rules are there and they’re quite right to stand by them.

Barton’s ban means he is not being allowed to take part in a charity match for the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

That’s a shame but I’m sure there will be plenty of other players delighted to take part.

Ultimately, these problems are Joey’s own fault.

We all know that players who want to bet just get their friends or family to do it on their behalf. You might find that unpleasant, but it’s the reality of the situation.

In years to come, Joey will kick himself. He’ll realise that his career fizzled out in a rather undignified way.

But I don’t want people in football to get too high and mighty about their relationship with the gambling industry. It’s quite right that we dissuade people from gambling irresponsibly.

But lots of ordinary fans enjoy having a modest flutter without a problem.

The bookmakers in the UK now have customers worldwide, and most clubs and leagues are more than happy to take their sponsorship and advertising.

I’m told that Joey Barton is now studying psychology.

One thing’s for sure, we haven’t heard the last of him.

And, bans or no bans, we’re sure to keep hearing more about football and betting.