SFA appeals ‘lenient’ Steve Simonsen betting ban

Steve Simonsen served a one-match suspension for betting on 50 football matches. Picture: SNS

Simonsen served a one-game ban this month after admitting breaking the SFA’s zero tolerance rules by betting on a total of 50 games in a year.

The 35-year-old had not bet on any games relating to his club’s competitions and was given a one-match ban with another suspended when an SFA-convened judicial panel convened on 12 February. But now SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan has challenged that decision “on the basis that the sanction imposed was unduly lenient” and an appeal tribunal will convene “in due course”.

Previous judicial panels have issued more severe punishments for betting offences, but they have involved players betting on games in which they were involved.

In 2013, Simonsen’s Ibrox team-mate Ian Black was handed a ten-game ban – seven of which were suspended – and a £7,500 fine after admitted to placing 160 football bets over a seven-year period. Three of the matches involved bets placed against Black’s own team.

Five months later, Ayr United’s Michael Moffat was given a four-game ban – with another two suspended – after he was found guilty of placing seven bets on six matches involving his own team. Moffat was also found guilty of placing an additional 150 bets on other games.