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The FA Won't Even Let Joey Barton Play In A Charity Game For Grenfell Tower Victims

The FA Won't Even Let Joey Barton Play In A Charity Game For Grenfell Tower Victims

"Unless someone engages their brain, I won't make it"

Joe Baiamonte

Joe Baiamonte

Joey Barton's current FA ban for charges related to gambling may have been reduced by five months, but it is still preventing the former Burnley midfielder from taking part in a charity game aimed at raising money for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Barton was banned for 18 months in April after being found guilty of placing bets on over 1,200 matches between 2006 and 2016. Yesterday, however, the Football Association reduced the ban by almost five months following an appeal.

The 34-year-old had been expected to take part in GAME4GRENFELL, a charity match organised to raise funds for those affected by the horrifying fire that engulfed a tower block in North Kensington, last month.

This morning, though, Barton has taken to Twitter to explain that, because the match is sanctioned by the FA, he is prohibited from taking part in it.




Quite why the FA feels the need to extend Barton's suspension to charity games is anyone's guess and one would hope that the Association sees sense and reverses their decision in order to allow a player wanting to help people afflicted by unspeakable horrors to take part in the game.


Joey Barton
Joey Barton

Barton spent four years at Loftus Road as a QPR player between 2011-15, but will not be allowed to return there to take part in the GAME4GRENFELL at the beginning of September. Image: PA

GAME4GRENFELL will take place on 2nd September at Loftus Road, where Barton spent four seasons as a Queens Park Rangers player between 2011-2015. The likes of Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, David Seaman and Peter Crouch are all set to feature, alongside celebrities and musicians such as Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, Kasabian guitarist and songwriter Serge Pizzorno, Homeland's Damian Lewis and The Verve's Richard Ashcroft.

More information about the match can be found HERE.

What do you make of the FA's decision to prohibit Barton from taking part in the game? The right decision or a step too far?

Have your say in our comments sections below and on our Facebook page.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football, Joey Barton, FA