Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has been handed a worldwide four-month ban from all football-related activity for breaching betting regulations.
The 30-year-old, who mutually terminated his contract with Turkey's Trabzonspor on Monday, was given a six-week ban in July – four of them suspended – and fined 75,000 pounds ($95,943) but the FA appealed the independent regulatory panel's decision.
"Daniel Sturridge has been suspended from all football and football-related activity from today until the end of 17 June 2020," the FA said in a statement.
"In relation to the sanction, the Appeal Board agreed with The FA that the penalty originally imposed on Mr. Sturridge was unduly lenient and therefore increased his effective playing ban from two weeks to four months.
"The Appeal Board also doubled the fine to £150,000 ($191.886)"
"I'm absolutely gutted my season's over. I'm devastated," Sturridge said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Sturridge was accused of passing on inside information about his potential transfer moves away from Liverpool in Jan. 2018 to friends and relatives that was then used for, or in relation to, betting.
"I'm going to continue to campaign for professional footballers to be able to speak to their families and close friends freely, without the real risk of being charged," Sturridge added.
"I feel ... the betting companies and the practice and the process of people placing bets on players moving clubs has to be stopped."
Sturridge joined Trabzonspor on a three-year deal in August and had seven goals and four assists for the Turkish Süper Lig side in all competitions.
He thanked the club and said he had no choice but to leave them.
"I feel uncomfortable and I just don't think it's the right thing for me to continue accepting wages from a team I can't contribute to due to being banned," he said.
Sturridge, 30, began his career at Manchester City before moving to Chelsea in 2009. He enjoyed the best spell of his career at Liverpool after a move to Anfield in 2013.
