Shelbourne first-team coach, Alan Quinn, has slammed his employers for not offering 'support' to him following his suspension from all football-related activity for four months. He was suspended for breaching FAI betting rules last weekend.
On Saturday, the FAI banned the former Ireland player for breaching their betting rules. The organization stated that Quinn violated Section 7.4, Regulation 3 (Betting/Gambling) of the FAI Disciplinary Regulations. These breaches are said to be connected to 18 League of Ireland games between August 5, 2022, and May 5, 2023. The sanction was imposed by an Independent Disciplinary Committee after a personal hearing.
The FAI stated on Saturday, "Alan Quinn, Men's First Team Coach at Shelbourne FC, has been suspended from all football-related activity with immediate effect for a period of four months for breaching the FAI Disciplinary Regulations relating to betting.
"Quinn was found to have breached Section 7.4, Regulation 3 (Betting/Gambling) of the FAI Disciplinary Regulations. These breaches are connected to 18 League of Ireland games between August 5, 2022, and May 5, 2023, and the sanction was imposed by an Independent Disciplinary Committee following a personal hearing."
In the same statement, the FAI mentioned that the former Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Sheffield United player could still appeal the ban.
Shelbourne coach Alan Quinn responds to his suspension
- accepts he breached gambling regs
- reveals he has suffered from gambling addiction
- 9 bets made, never on his team to lose
- thanks Damien Duff, critical of ownership of club
- believes emphasis shld be on education pic.twitter.com/cZYeYlfEpI— Mark McCadden (@markmccadden) July 3, 2023
On Monday, Quinn responded to the ban and gave his take on the situation. The 44-year-old Dublin native admitted that he had a problem but also added that there was context around the bets placed in the charges.
"I accept fully that I breached the gambling regulations. This was a serious error of judgment on my part, which I regret hugely," said Quinn.
"However, I think context is required here. First, I have suffered from gambling addiction in the past, and while I now have the problem under some control, like any addiction, there are times when my judgment is impaired. Second, all the bets made were in losing accumulators, and no profit was made. Third, I did not and would never bet on my team to lose a match. Fourth, although 18 matches were involved, there were only nine bets made."
Quinn also accepted that his ban was warranted but wanted further education and rehabilitation regarding addictive gambling.
"I understand that no bets should have been made, and I fully accept that a suspension is warranted. My belief is that the focus in this and related instances should be less on excessive punishment and more towards education and rehabilitation.
The statement ended with the suspended Shelbourne coach thanking Shels manager Damien Duff for his support, but he did not offer thanks to the owners of the League of Ireland outfit.
"I would like to thank Shelbourne manager Damien Duff for his support, but I am bitterly disappointed in the lack of assistance and guidance from the ownership of the club.
"As soon as the accusation was made and I was suspended by the club, I was left to fend for myself. I was forced to attend disciplinary hearings without any presence or support from the club. I naively assumed that my standing within the club would have brought a little more loyalty, but this clearly wasn't the case."
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