The English Football Association (FA) has imposed a penalty of ten weeks disqualification for Kieran Trippier. The Atlético side was accused of violate gambling regulations in the summer of 2019, when he completed his signing for the rojiblanco club from Tottenham.
Although the 30-year-old has denied it at all times, the FA sanctions him with ten weeks without being able to play, plus a fine of £ 70,000, over € 77,000. A sanction that also affects Atlético, since “The suspension, which includes all football and football-related activity, is effective worldwide as of today (Wednesday, December 23, 2020) following a request to FIFA.”
Trippier is fundamental to Simeone. The Englishman has played every minute of the season (1,710) except for the Copa del Rey match against the Cardassar. The ten-week sanction would affect the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Chelsea (February 23) and more than ten league games, being able to return to the derby against Real Madrid on March 7. Atlético leads the classification table and their loss would be a huge stick for Cholo.
In the new rojiblanca formation, with Trippier as the lane, Simeone has found the best version of a footballer who has contributed four assists in league and that he is the outfield player who accumulates the most minutes so far this year. Vrsaljko has returned to the group and against Cardassar he had his first minutes since March, managing to see the door. The Athletic also has Ricard, side of B who also participated in the cup-winning match with a goal. In addition, the transfer market opens in just over a week, so if the sanction is confirmed an alternative could be sought from January 1.
The regulations of the Federation are exhaustive: anyone participating in the Premier League, the English Football League, the National League and the Women's Super League, as well as those who perform in clubs of the North, South and Isthmian leagues, are prohibited from betting on football or football related matters“It is also prohibited for a player to give information that he has obtained due to his privileged position to third parties so that they can take advantage of it.
In May, when the investigation began, Trippier's environment indicated that the player “he has done nothing wrong. It seems ridiculous to him that someone would try to link him to something like that. He will collaborate on everything to clarify it as soon as possible. He is sure that time will make things clearHowever, after months of investigation, the FA has decided to sanction the footballer who is also a permanent fixture with his national team, where he was running as a starter for the Eurocup.