Everton defender Yerry Mina has been fined £10,000 ($12,338) after admitting a Football Association misconduct charge in relation to betting rules, English football’s governing body said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the FA said that Mina was fined for “participating in an advertisement for betting activity which he is prohibited from engaging in”, a television advert for gambling company Betjuego in his home country of Colombia earlier this year.
The FA Regulatory Commission revealed all the money Mina received for the advert was donated to his charitable foundation, which was set up by the former Barcelona centre-back in 2016 to help disadvantaged young people back home.
It was also confirmed the 24-year-old requested the advert to be removed as soon as the he was informed he was in breach of FA rules, while he ended his association with the betting company in May.
Stringent rules are in place over sports betting in order to prevent match-fixing and spot-betting.
Earlier this year, former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge, now playing for Trabzonspor, was fined £75,000 ($94,000) and handed a six-week suspension after being found guilty of breaching different betting rules.
Meanwhile, Leeds midfielder Jordan Stevens has been given a six-week ban and a £1,200 fine after placing 59 bets on football between August 2018 and May 2019 – including five games involving his own team.
The ban is on all footballing activity which means Stevens is unable to train with Leeds during that period or interact with players or coaching staff – a move the second-tier Championship club called “excessive” and a “disproportionate punishment”.
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