Burnley FC staff member loses job after receiving 12-month ban for betting breaches

Richard Bredice, a performance analyst, placed 456 bets during a six-year stint between November 1, 2014 and December 13, 2022. The majority of those bets were placed while he worked at Manchester City.

He admitted the charge and has subsequently been banned for 12 months and fined £4,500.

Six months of his suspension is effective immediately, while the other six months are suspended until the conclusion of the 2025/26 season.

Bredice worked as a lead performance analyst with the Clarets, a role he started in June 2022 following Kompany’s appointment, having also worked with the Belgian at Anderlecht.

Of the 456 bets, 67 involved games in which clubs he was employed by, namely Man City and Burnley, earning Bredice a profit of £2,162.

He is also alleged to have made 12 ‘inside information bets’ – most of which focused on potential transfers in and out of Man City. Eleven of the 12 bets were successful, earning Bredice a profit of just over £1,700.

Bredice denied the FA’s claim that he was privy to details surrounding City’s transfer plans, maintaining the deals involving players were targets already in the public domain.

The analyst is said to have ‘strongly rejected’ suggestions that he was friendly with City players, specifically those the subject of his betting patterns.

On the day of a Champions League dead-rubber against Shakhtar Donetsk in 2017, Bredice placed a successful £50 bet on the Ukrainians beating City.

Bredice claimed he didn’t receive any education on the FA’s betting rules during his time at Manchester City until he joined Burnley, where he was given training. His bets then stopped as a result.

Kompany and Burnley’s chief operating officer Matt Williams provided letters of support to the FA’s independent commission hearing. Williams, however, wrote in his letter that Burnley would likely terminate Bredice’s employment should the commission impose a suspension. Bredice is no longer employed by the Clarets.

Bredice, who can appeal the verdict, was also ordered to pay £500 in costs alongside his £4,500 fine.