Mark Bowen betting charges

[Forbury Lion]

I agree that, from where I'm standing, betting on another division should be fine.

It can get messy quick.

Senior person at club A bets their house on Club B in a lower division gaining promotion

Club B have an injury crisis, Senior Person at club B loans them loads of quality players for free from club A to help their push for promotion and to keep their bet alive, even if it isn't in the best interests of Club A

or person at club A chats to person at club B, they both agree to put bets on for each other and then swap envelopes of cash at a motorway service station every Friday.

[Forbury Lion]

In most cases players/staff do not gamble on football, however they probably have a parent/brother/other/sister who does and that's where the bets are made.

Nobody is going to investigate a relative gambling relatively small amounts, it's when they gamble big time above their income levels and more in line with the money a footballer/person in football is earning that it all unravels.

[RG30]

Reading’s Head of Football Operations has been suspended and fined for misconduct in relation to The FA’s Betting Rules.

Mark Bowen admitted that he placed 95 bets on football matches, which were unrelated to Reading, between 19 April 2022 and 14 January 2024.

An independent Regulatory Commission imposed a 12-week suspension on 17 July 2024, eight weeks of which are suspended until the end of the 2025/26 season, and a £7,000 fine during a hearing.

The independent Regulatory Commission’s written reasons can be seen below.

https://www.thefa.com/news/2024/aug/13/mark-bowen-sanctioned-140824

https://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/thefaportal/governance-docs/discipline-cases/2024/the-fa-v-mark-bowen.ashx

[On Strings]

Good, can't wait to see the back of him. Get that alcoholic self-absorbed, money grabbing shithouse Howe out as well, sharpish!

[Snowflake Royal]

Reading’s Head of Football Operations has been suspended and fined for misconduct in relation to The FA’s Betting Rules.

Mark Bowen admitted that he placed 95 bets on football matches, which were unrelated to Reading, between 19 April 2022 and 14 January 2024.

An independent Regulatory Commission imposed a 12-week suspension on 17 July 2024, eight weeks of which are suspended until the end of the 2025/26 season, and a £7,000 fine during a hearing.

The independent Regulatory Commission’s written reasons can be seen below.

https://www.thefa.com/news/2024/aug/13/mark-bowen-sanctioned-140824

https://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/thefaportal/governance-docs/discipline-cases/2024/the-fa-v-mark-bowen.ashx

Clearly got a gambling problem then.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Gambling for most people is only really a "problem" when it's compulsive, so an uncontrolled pattern of gambling, or when the gambler runs into real financial problems as a result of their activity.

However, in this case it's is when it's been clearly and repeatedly explained to you that one of the terms and conditions of your job is that you don't gamble on football, and you go ahead and do so 95 times. That implies a very serious lack of control.

Hope he recognises this and gets some help, otherwise I'd say it's likely to happen again,

[SCIAG]

Quick summary:

94 bets on football between April 2022 and Jan 2024. £8450 staked, loss of £510. Some of them were on competitions that Bowen's clubs (us or AFC Wimbledon) were competing in.

Bowen told the investigator he'd placed about a dozen bets for a friend, some of them on football. The friend confirmed that Bowen had placed bets on his behalf. Bowen allegedly placed the bets with a clear conscience because they "weren't his", but this is still against the rules. Bowen never told N that he wasn't allowed to place the bets.

As the friend died between the start of the investigation and the hearing, the FA were not able to test his evidence, and so they proceeded on the assumption that all of these bets were actually N's bets that Bowen placed for him.

When determining an appropriate sanction, the case of Chris Maguire is raised as a parallel: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64389263

The FA accepted that, unlike Maguire, Bowen has a genuine gambling problem, that his football betting is a small part of his overall betting, and he at no point betted on his own team. However, it was still a repeated breach, aggravated by it being a second offence.

[Hound]

All fairly minor imo in terms of poor behaviour. Punishment seems reasonable and hopefully that’s the end of it. Don’t think Bowen is a bad egg as such - and potentially did as much as anyone last year in stopping us crumble altogether as a club

Hopefully he can get his issues sorted and learn from the mistakes

Not sure how moral the football world can be on this when half the teams are sponsored by some pretty dodgy gambling firms

[Mid Sussex Royal]

All fairly minor imo in terms of poor behaviour. Punishment seems reasonable and hopefully that’s the end of it. Don’t think Bowen is a bad egg as such - and potentially did as much as anyone last year in stopping us crumble altogether as a club

Hopefully he can get his issues sorted and learn from the mistakes

Not sure how moral the football world can be on this when half the teams are sponsored by some pretty dodgy gambling firms

Don't agree....how can a Director of Football, with certain insider knowledge of other clubs in the same league as us and Wimbledon, get away so likely?

If he'd been betting on Premier League/Champions league etc that's different but clearly not the case here.

As someone in a senior management position it sets a dreadful example too.....I hope he's sent on his way asap when the takeover happens.

[AthleticoSpizz]

It's not a good look
More shame on the clubs administration.

[RG30]

Mark Bowen and Reading are locked in a legal dispute after the Sky Bet League One club terminated his contract as their head of football operations over his recent ban for betting on football.

The former Wales international served a four-week suspension after an independent FA regulatory commission found that the 60-year-old had placed bets for a friend on matches not involving his own clubs.

Bowen placed 95 bets on football matches between April 2022 to January 2024, for a total stake of £8,450, with a negative return of £7,939.02. The commission cited the fact that he had been fined in 2020 for betting and yet had repeated the offence. That said, eight of the 12 weeks of the ban he was issued with in July were suspended and he was fined £7,000, plus costs of £900.

The former Wales and Manchester City assistant manager, who has been in his role at Reading for more than two years, has now served his suspension, but The Times understands that in July he was also informed by his employers that he was in breach of his contract for bringing the club into disrepute.

With his salary well into six figures, for a club who have been in serious financial difficulties these past few years — and which is the subject of a possible takeover by the American lawyer Rob Couhig — Bowen’s departure would represent a significant saving.

In May Reading were fined £200,000 after an independent regulatory commission found that the club and three of their staff members — Nigel Howe, Sue Hewett and Michael Gilkes — had breached FA intermediary regulations.

Howe, the club’s chief executive, was fined a further £5,000 and issued with an immediate six-month suspension from involvement with player contract negotiations and transfer-related activity, plus a further six-month suspension from all football-related activity to commence upon the expiry of the first suspension.

Yet Howe is now the club’s property projects manager, allowing him to continue overseeing takeover negotiations, while Hewett remains club secretary.

While a statement from Reading conceded that the club’s conduct “fell short of the high standards with which we usually operate”, support was expressed for three employees who had previously “represented Reading FC in an exemplary fashion for over 20 years”.

This year the club’s principal owner, Dai Yongge, was charged by the English Football League for bringing the club “into disrepute”.

After paying wages late on more than three occasions last year, Dai was asked to deposit 125 per cent of the wage bill into an allotted account to prove his long-term interest in running the club.

After failing to do so on two occasions, his fine was increased to £80,000, with an independent panel asked to determine any further punishments.

“The owner of the club, Mr Dai Yongge, has today been charged with misconduct for his repeated failures to deposit an amount equal to 125 per cent of the club’s forecast monthly wage bill in a designated bank account,” an EFL statement read.

“Mr Dai did not meet this month’s deadline, meaning he has been in default for nearly four months and remains in breach of both the first decision (August 2023) and second decision (December 2023) as ordered by the independent disciplinary commission.

“He has also been charged with bringing the club and/or League into disrepute as a result of his actions. Both charges have been referred to an independent disciplinary commission.”

In February Reading received a second points deduction of the season, with the two points docked by the EFL for the club’s failure to make HMRC payments within an 80-day limit.

Both Reading and Bowen declined to comment on Monday.

https://www.thetimes.com/article/139815e7-3f20-4716-bd65-c934286ad115?shareToken=7ff58666c6cdba1355c7ca23d890b40c

[Clyde1998]

Good that the club's sacked him. I can't see how he wouldn't be in breach of contract.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Good that the club's sacked him. I can't see how he wouldn't be in breach of contract.

Agree - particularly as some of the bets were placed on L1 games when he was DoF here.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Suggests that Couhig and Jacobson are already making the calls. Dai and Pang wouldn't care enough to sack him.

Anyhow, I'm not a lawyer, but it seems all those other cases he is comparing to are first offences. This is his 2nd offence and therefore definitely more serious. I guess the counter argument is that it was a convenient way for Couhig to get his man in. Maybe he's hoping for a nice out of court settlement.

[Brogue]

Thank fook for that. Horrible bastard.

[morganb]

Does anyone know the latest on this?

His Linkedin profile says:

Reading FC Head of Football, May 2022 - Present

For some reason I though this had been changed when he first got sacked, or once you have been sacked you would go and update your Linkedin, especially if you were in the market for a new job

Isn't he soon to be a guest speaker at some Reading-based event soon? This all seems a bit strange if he is in legal dispute with the club!

Is there any chance he could have been recently reinstated (since Cohig is no longer in the picture and it was suspected at the time that he was the one who swung the axe, even though he wasn't really in charge) especially if the club doesn't have the money to settle any claims.

Though it wasn't the case when he gave the Ovie Ejaria interview a month ago:

https://wokingham.today/former-reading- ... interview/

Could he now be the one responsible for progressing the takeover in Nigel Howe's absence?

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Does anyone know the latest on this?

His Linkedin profile says:

Reading FC Head of Football, May 2022 - Present

For some reason I though this had been changed when he first got sacked, or once you have been sacked you would go and update your Linkedin, especially if you were in the market for a new job

Isn't he soon to be a guest speaker at some Reading-based event soon? This all seems a bit strange if he is in legal dispute with the club!

Is there any chance he could have been recently reinstated (since Cohig is no longer in the picture and it was suspected at the time that he was the one who swung the axe, even though he wasn't really in charge) especially if the club doesn't have the money to settle any claims.

Though it wasn't the case when he gave the Ovie Ejaria interview a month ago:

https://wokingham.today/former-reading- ... interview/

Could he now be the one responsible for progressing the takeover in Nigel Howe's absence?

This is being run by STAR and I'm pretty sure they or the press confirmed he was no longer employed by the club as STAR had to clear it with them. The event is also taking place off site, which is different to usual STAR events.

Not sure this was a good idea by STAR, I wouldn't trust anything Bowen says any more.

[Stranded]

Does anyone know the latest on this?

His Linkedin profile says:

Reading FC Head of Football, May 2022 - Present

For some reason I though this had been changed when he first got sacked, or once you have been sacked you would go and update your Linkedin, especially if you were in the market for a new job

Isn't he soon to be a guest speaker at some Reading-based event soon? This all seems a bit strange if he is in legal dispute with the club!

Is there any chance he could have been recently reinstated (since Cohig is no longer in the picture and it was suspected at the time that he was the one who swung the axe, even though he wasn't really in charge) especially if the club doesn't have the money to settle any claims.

Though it wasn't the case when he gave the Ovie Ejaria interview a month ago:

https://wokingham.today/former-reading- ... interview/

Could he now be the one responsible for progressing the takeover in Nigel Howe's absence?

Man in failing to update Linked In shocker!

[RoyalBlue]

Does anyone know the latest on this?

His Linkedin profile says:

Reading FC Head of Football, May 2022 - Present

For some reason I though this had been changed when he first got sacked, or once you have been sacked you would go and update your Linkedin, especially if you were in the market for a new job

Isn't he soon to be a guest speaker at some Reading-based event soon? This all seems a bit strange if he is in legal dispute with the club!

Is there any chance he could have been recently reinstated (since Cohig is no longer in the picture and it was suspected at the time that he was the one who swung the axe, even though he wasn't really in charge) especially if the club doesn't have the money to settle any claims.

Though it wasn't the case when he gave the Ovie Ejaria interview a month ago:

https://wokingham.today/former-reading- ... interview/

Could he now be the one responsible for progressing the takeover in Nigel Howe's absence?

Man in failing to update Linked In shocker!

What are the odds of that!

[Sutekh]

Does anyone know the latest on this?

His Linkedin profile says:

Reading FC Head of Football, May 2022 - Present

For some reason I though this had been changed when he first got sacked, or once you have been sacked you would go and update your Linkedin, especially if you were in the market for a new job

Isn't he soon to be a guest speaker at some Reading-based event soon? This all seems a bit strange if he is in legal dispute with the club!

Is there any chance he could have been recently reinstated (since Cohig is no longer in the picture and it was suspected at the time that he was the one who swung the axe, even though he wasn't really in charge) especially if the club doesn't have the money to settle any claims.

Though it wasn't the case when he gave the Ovie Ejaria interview a month ago:

https://wokingham.today/former-reading- ... interview/

Could he now be the one responsible for progressing the takeover in Nigel Howe's absence?

This is being run by STAR and I'm pretty sure they or the press confirmed he was no longer employed by the club as STAR had to clear it with them. The event is also taking place off site, which is different to usual STAR events.

Not sure this was a good idea by STAR, I wouldn't trust anything Bowen says any more.

Man in likely to tell everything he is legally able from his POV shock.