Everton player fined for Colombia gambling ad appearance

Everton defender Yerry Mina has been handed a £10,000 fine for appearing in a Colombia-facing gambling advert that was flagged up to the FA earlier this year.

The Colombia-born football player Yerry Mina starred in the advert after penning a deal with Betjuego, a prominent sportsbetting operator in the region.

Under rules set out by the FA, professional footballers aren’t allowed to place wagers themselves, and are also banned from promoting betting activity for the course of their careers.

Following an investigation into the advert, Mina was found to be in contravention of FA Rule E8(3), but representatives of the player argued that there were several circumstances mitigating his responsibility, including having a poor grasp of English that made it highly likely that he had been unable to understand the anti-gambling rules he had been informed of.

Everton also submitted evidence that showed that Mina hadn’t personally profited from appearing in the advert but had instead donated all proceeds to the Yerry Mina Foundation, a charity set up to support disadvantaged young people across Colombia.

In addition, they argued, Mina had demanded that the advert was taken off the air as soon as he had found out about the breach of rules, and subsequently ended his partnership with the betting firm.

In light of the extenuating circumstances, the FA’s regulatory panel declared that a formal warning and a fine of £10,000 would be an appropriate penalty for the Premier League player, stopping short of banning him from taking part in future matches for his team.