Joey Barton’s calamitous season at Rangers has taken another turn for the worse after he was hit with a Scottish Football Association charge for betting on matches.

Barton, 34, is accused by the SFA of placing 44 football bets between July 1 and September 15 this summer.

Sportsmail understands Barton is not alleged to have bet on matches involving his own club Rangers.

Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has been charged with betting on 44 football matches

Barton spoke to Sportsmail's chief sports reporter Matt Lawton last month: Read it HERE

EXTRACT FROM BARTON'S NEW BOOK, 'NO NONSENSE' 'He (Barton's cellmate, Billy) urged me to find my place in the system, which I duly discovered scanning the racing page. I had a eureka moment studying the form, and realised the prison lacked a bookie. I borrowed Billy's chocolate stash to establish a float, gave us insurance by skimming the original odds, and recorded all bets in a notebook. Before long we were an illegitimate version of Cadbury World. 'I diversified, using my inside knowledge to create a range of markets for that summer's European Championships in Austria and Switzerland. It didn't matter that England had failed to qualify. I offered odds on opening goalscorer, number of cards, timing of goals and the final result. When confectionery supplies ran low, we accepted toiletries, bedding and food privileges as stakes. 'The screws inevitably discovered our scam, but were sanguine about its success, since they trusted us to prevent inmates getting too deep into debt.' Advertisement

Only one of the games involved a match involving a Scottish club, when Barton placed a bet on Celtic’s Champions League trip to Barcelona last month. He had gambled on the Catalan club to have a substantial victory. Barca won the match 7-0.

The SFA’s regulations ban players from betting on any football match and the rules have been the same in England since August 2014.

Barton had spent the past two seasons in England under those regulations while playing for Queens Park Rangers and Burnley.

Last season, Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis received a fine in the region of £22,000 from the FA after betting on 29 matches in a three-week period. The games Barton gambled on are believed to have been in England or in European competition.

Barton stretches during Rangers training last month - he is no stranger to controversy

SFA RULES ON BETTING 26.1: A club, official, team official or other member of team staff, player, referee or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall not gamble in any way on a football match. Any such club or person found guilty of gambling of any description on football shall be deemed guilty of misconduct and shall be liable to such sanctions in respect thereof as are prescribed within the Judicial Panel Protocol. Advertisement

In his recently released autobiography, No Nonsense, Barton revealed that he became the ‘unofficial bookmaker’ at Liverpool’s Walton prison while serving a six-month sentence for common assault and affray in 2008.

Barton is due to return to training with Rangers on Monday after a three-week suspension following a training ground bust-up.

The player who was capped once by England, back in 2007, was sent home from training following an altercation that was reported to have involved team-mates and coaching staff.

Barton complains to the referee during Rangers' game with Annan Athletic earlier this term

The heated exchange featured captain Lee Wallace and midfielder Andy Halliday as well as manager Mark Warburton and coach David Weir.

The confrontation took place in the days following Rangers’ 5-1 defeat by Celtic in the Old Firm derby.

Barton will now return with this latest controversy hanging over him and he is likely to receive a ban of one or two matches from the SFA. Rangers declined to make any comment last night. Barton has until October 12 to reply to the allegation, with a hearing set to take place on October 27.

BET THEY REGRETTED THAT... Martin Demichelis (May 2016) Ex-Manchester City defender fined £22,058 for 29 bets on matches. Lewis Smith (Mar 2016) East Thurrock player banned for 17 months and fined £22,865 for placing 28 bets. Steve Simonsen (Feb 2015) Goalkeeper banned for two matches (one suspended) at Rangers for bets on 55 games. Ronnie Moore (May 2014) Sacked as Tranmere boss for bets that included a £1 double on his side to beat Colchester and Manchester United to beat QPR, from which he won £3.93. Dan Gosling (Mar 2014) Fined £30,000 at Newcastle for ‘betting out of boredom’ while injured, according to his mum. Ian Black (Sep 2013) Banned for 10 games and fined £7,500. Then of Rangers, he bet against his side three times. Cameron Jerome (Aug 2013) Fined £50,000 while at Stoke for repeatedly breaking FA rules. Andros Townsend (May 2013) Four-month ban (three suspended) and £18,000 fine at Tottenham. Advertisement



