Joey Barton hit with FA charge over 1,260 football bets

Joey Barton has been hit with a Football Association charge after being accused of betting on a staggering 1,260 matches - a clear breach of FA rules.

The charges relate to bets placed over a ten-year period from 2006 when he was still a Manchester City player. The FA released the announcement on Friday afternoon with this statement posted on their website:

"Joey Barton has been charged for misconduct in relation to betting. "It is alleged that between 26 March 2006 and 13 May 2016, he placed 1,260 bets on the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, football matches or competitions in breach of FA Rule E8. "He has until 5 January 2017 to respond to the charge."

Barton, 34, is currently without a club after leaving Glasgow Rangers in November after falling out with manager Mark Warburton. He is set to re-sign for former club Burnley, subject to international clearance, in January. In October he was charged by the Scottish FA for betting on some 44 matches. He was handed a one-match ban for the offence - a sentence he is yet to serve after he left Rangers, though it is expected to carry over to the English FA once he joins Burnley. He played for the Clarets last season as they won promotion back to the Premier League, and was even voted as their player of the season as he scored three goals in 40 appearances to help get them back into to the top flight.