Townsend will not appeal his FA betting ban

GUILTY Tottenham winger Andros Townsend will not appeal his punishment for breaching the Football Association’s betting rules and has vowed to restore his reputation on the pitch.

The 21-year-old was handed a four-month ban and £18,000 fine at an independent regulatory commission hearing yesterday, where he was found to have breached FA Rule E8(b) for misconduct in relation to betting.

Townsend’s ban has been backdated to 23 May, when he voluntarily withdrew from the England under-21 squad to compete at the European Championships in Israel, while three of the four months of his ban have been suspended until 1 July 2016.

It means Townsend will be free to begin playing for Spurs on the opening day of the 2013-14 Premier League campaign and he is determined to put this misdemeanour behind him.

“Following a personal hearing at the FA and the statement issued, I fully accept the disciplinary action and shall not be appealing,” he wrote on Twitter.

“This has been a regrettable experience from which I fully intend to come back stronger.

“Now I’m fully focussed on returning to football during pre-season and determined for this indiscretion to not tarnish my career moving forward.”

Townsend is yet to establish himself in the Spurs first team, but spent four months on loan at relegated Queens Park Rangers last season and was voted the junior club members’ player of the year, after scoring two goals in 12 appearances.

The Leytonstone-born midfielder has also enjoyed loan spells at Yeovil Town, Leyton Orient, MK Dons, Ipswich Town, Watford, Millwall, Leeds United and Birmingham City.

FA RULE E8(B)

Players should not use or give to anyone else for betting purposes any information relating to football which they have learnt because of their position within the game and which is not publicly available.