It looked like the FA were trying to make an example of Kieran Trippier as they set a heavy precedent with his 10 week ban for a betting infringement, but the reality is that they could be left looking foolish over the whole affair.
The Guardian have attempted to shed some light on Tripper’s current situation due to the absolute mess that’s been created, but the main problem from the FA’s point of view is they somehow thought they had the power to ban players who didn’t play in England.
The Guardian have indicated that Trippier might not even miss any more games for Atletico after FA failed with their latest appeal to revise the dates of the ban, while an Atleti appeal has currently wiped out the “worldwide” aspect of the ban.
It does mean that Trippier would be banned if he signed for an English club this month, but there’s no sign of anything being overturned just now which stops him playing in Spain or the Champions League.
READ MORE: The conversation that led to Trippier’s ban
They do point out that FIFA could still decide to side with the FA and reinstate the ban, but that would go against the reasoning given by an independent panel when they reached a decision to dismiss the latest appeal by the FA.
Just in case this wasn’t enough of a mess, Atleti have already gone on record to say they’ll take this to the Court of Arbitration for Sport so that would drag this out even longer.
Obviously this would come down to the dates, but if this is dragged out until the summer and the decision stands to issue the worldwide ban, there is a small chance that the FA could end up banning their own player for EURO 2021 for the offence of telling a friend about a major life event.
Betting is a major problem in football and the relationship with betting companies and sponsorships has to be reviewed, but cases like this are not where the problem lies at all.
There’s every chance that this could take several twists along the way, but questions may also need to be asked about the validity of the FA’s decision to ban Daniel Sturridge for betting offences last year which led to the termination of a three year contract with Turkish side Trabzonspor.