Everton’s Yerry Mina has been issued a warning and fined £10,000 after admitting to breaching FA rules regarding betting involvement.
The FA described his case as “unusual” given its circumstances.
The defender appeared in a TV advert for Betjuego, a Colombian betting company, which was broadcast exclusively in Colombia.
His punishment is far less strict than recent sanctions imposed by The FA on Jordan Stevens and Daniel Sturridge, both of whom were banned from footballing activities for six weeks, with the latter fined an additional £75,000.
Mina, who admitted his mistake and apologised, had the advert taken down once he realised he had breached FA rules.
Another mitigating factor was that Mina did not profit from the advert, with his earnings being donated to the Yerry Mina Foundation.
The FA Regulatory Commission said that the fine was “appropriate and proportionate in the circumstances” – Everton claimed Mina’s “command of the English language is limited” which led to him not understanding the information regarding betting.
However, The FA did assert that “a warning alone would be insufficient to reflect the seriousness of such a breach”.
