Ghana international Alexander Djiku has had his ban for breaking betting regulations in France lightened.
On December 19, the RC Strasbourg centre-back received a one-match suspension after investigations by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) established that he and 75 other players, coaches and team officials had been involved in betting during the 2020/21 season.
Specifically, Djiku placed a bet of a small amount (20 euros) on a LaLiga match involving Real Madrid in July 2020, which is in breach of LFP rules which prohibit professional footballers from gambling on games.
The 28-year-old Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup campaigner with Ghana was thus suspended from Strasbourg’s Ligue 1 resumption game away to leaders Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, December 28.
Ghana’s Alexander Djiku banned in France for betting
But his club, which had requested conciliation with the Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français (CNOSF), won its case and the re-examination of the ruling.
On Boxing Day, the LFP reversed its decision to impose a firm one-match suspension on Djiku by transforming it into a suspended match.
The amount he staked, the foreign nature of the object of the bet (the Spanish championship) and the fact that this bet fell within the framework of a partnership with a sports betting site would have prompted the LFP to show leniency towards the player.
