My bet is that he told some friends he was off to West Brom, who then lumped on it. Sure the report said it applied to last Jan. Hope he gets a nice long ban whatever it is.
Reds are saying its only natural for him to talk to his family, and of course to a certain extent it is, but only being able to say so much about work and avoid other topics, is hardly unique to a footballer, lots of professions have to be careful in what they say. Doctors for example can't name patients and tell his or her case history to anyone even to an extent his/her own family.
So while it's certainly natural to discuss its and perhaps natural too for them to discuss it with the wider circle of family and friends it may not be within the rules.
From the viewpoint of legality it must depend on what rules and regulations a player is actually bound by.
A spate of winning bets by family, friends and close associates at long odds of 25/1 for example, on him unexpectedly joining another club rather than those he had long been expected to join, and this surprise turn of events coinciding with betting on him doing so in a concentrated area, and is particularly prevalent amongst his wider circle of family and friends all having seemingly been told, and the only possible source of this information in all probability being the player himself, then it may constitute a serious breach of the rules by the player himself.
He will have a highly paid defence arguing his case and if he's not heavily restricted its difficult to see how the charges were brought, but I'm not exactly sure whether the players' family also have to have these restrictions too or whether that's even particularly relevant as its the availability of that information and how it got out which seems to be the issue. Whether tge player by telling anyone and they subsequently using it for betting is a breach, if its not the hen its difficult to see how charges are being laid.
Often in competitions or similar there can be restrictions if you know someone working for the organisers or are in the same family of someone who is.
It might well mean the player himself has to abide by restrictions that do limit the amount of information he can tell his family before it becomes public knowledge that its a possibility for fear of them placing bets.
There is normally time once negotiations start and are known about to discuss it before committing anyway.Yes its certainly natural to do so and perhaps also quite natural for them in turn to discuss it with the wider circle of family and friends.
From the viewpoint of legality it must depend on what rules and regulations a player is actually bound by.
A spate of winning bets by family, friends and close associates at long odds of say 25/1 for example, on him unexpectedly, at the last minute so to speak, joining another club rather than those he had long been expected to join, and this surprise turn of events coinciding with betting on him doing so in a concentrated area, and it being particularly prevelent amongst his wider circle of family and friends all having seemingly been told, and the only possible source of this information in all probability being the player himself, then it may constitute a serious breach of the rules by the player himself.
He will have a highly paid defence arguing his case but if he's not heavily restricted its difficult to see how the charges were brought, but I'm not exactly sure whether the players' family also have to have these restrictions too or whether that's even particularly relevant that they do.
It's the availability of that information and how it got out which seems to be the issue and whether the player by telling anyone and they subsequently using it for betting is a breach, if it's not then its difficult to see how charges are being laid.
Often in competitions or similar there can be restrictions if you know someone working for the organisers or are in the same family of someone who is.
It might well mean the player himself has to abide by restrictions that do limit the amount of information he can divulge to his family before it becomes public knowledge for fear of them or their close friends and associates placing bets.
There is normally time enough once negotiations are known to have started and before them being finalised to discuss it before committing anyway.
A players agent is usually the main source of advice and representation rather than his family, especially for a player who has been around some time
With FA charges it must also be remembered that it's not a court of law, and its only on the balance of probabilities not proof.
