Scholes fined £8,000 by FA over betting breaches

Ex-Man Utd midfielder Paul Scholes admitted to breaching FA rules related to gambling and must pay a fine of £8,000 plus costs

Paul Scholes has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching betting rules.

Former Manchester United and England star Scholes was charged in April in respect to 140 bets placed on football matches between August 2015 and January 2019.

Scholes’ brief tenure as manager of League Two club Oldham Athletic began in February this year but he fell foul of FA regulations because the bets in question took place when he was a director of Salford City.

Alongside former United team-mates Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and David Beckham, Scholes owns a stake in Salford, who were promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history last season.

Eight of Scholes’ bets were placed on FA Cup matches, although all were made at stages after Salford had been eliminated from the competition.

“An Independent Regulatory Commission has fined Paul Scholes £8,000 and warned him as to his future conduct after he admitted an FA misconduct charge in relation to betting,” an FA statement confirmed.

Scholes must also pay £1,800 towards the costs of the hearing.

In its written findings, the FA stated that “as an experienced former professional player and then a director of a football club [Scholes] ought to have acquainted himself with the rules and adhered to them”.

However, it gave the 44-year-old “considerable credit for his admission to the breach, his co-operation with these proceedings and his exemplary record”.

The FA added: “The Commission accepted the undisputed evidence that [Scholes] had placed the bets in circumstances where he was unaware of the rules. He did so to enhance his enjoyment and interest in the matches and did not deploy any special knowledge.

“There could be no perception that the result or any other aspect of the matches could have been affected by the bets.”