Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
You wait for one relatively strange piece of off the field news and then two happen to come along in the same day, which as someone who requires a last piece of content before the log off for the afternoon it is an absolute godsend. Therefore a big shoutout needs to go to the HMRC and Joey Barton.
Firstly the HMRC have simultaneously raided the club offices of both Newcastle and West Ham United after there is believed to be suspected income tax and National Insurance fraud amounts to £5m. They say that tax does not have to be taxing….especially if you don’t pay it.
The news somewhat dampens Newcastle’s promotion party but there’s no question of the playing side of things being punished. It has meant though that a number of people have been arrested in both Tyneside and East London while inquiries are currently ongoing.
In Lancashire the inquiries will have come to an end in regards to Joey Barton, he has been hit with a massive 18 month ban after gambling offences……I bet he did not see that one coming. The former Marseille midfielder was found guilty after placing 1,260 bets on matches between 26 March 2006 and 13 May 2016.
Has Barton not heard of a VPN? The player himself has commented on the length of the ban by saying that “The decision effectively forces me into an early retirement” It may force him off the pitch but the bad news is that it will probably force him into the TV Studio’s again.
Barton likes to position himself as the thinking man’s footballer, while the 34 year old is going to have a lot of thinking to do as his career all but comes to an end. I wonder what he will do with all that spare time? Perhaps he could spend his time in the bookmakers…..on second thoughts
