A former Welling forward has been banned from football for 12 months after placing 473 bets on football matches.

George Porter's suspension from all football and football activities were published by the FA at the end of last week with the Bromley player also handed a fine of £750.

Porter's early guilty plea to the offences meant his ban was reduced from 15 months to 12 months, and the fine cut from £1,000 to £750.

The player was charged under FA Rule E8, for bets made while playing for Leyton Orient, Burnley, Welling and Bromley.

Betting company Bet365 initially identified Porter to the FA as having breached the FA's betting rules.

Porter placed a total stake of £5,147.40 across the 473 bets from December 2011 to May 2019. The returns were £2,754.62, resulting in a net loss of £2,392.78.

On publishing their written reasons, the FA also stressed that there was no suggestion that Porter was engaged in match fixing.

The FA found that there was nothing suspicious about the actual betting and returns from betting, Porter did not win money from bets he placed involving his own team and few were single bets.

Porter has played five times for Bromley this season, scoring 24 goals in 138 appearances in total for the Hayes Lane club.

Porter's Bromley team-mate Jordan Higgs was fined £600 for placing 373 bets on football matches between May 2015 and May 2019.

Players, staff and officials at all levels of football down to and including step four are banned from betting by the FA.

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