Cavanagh suspended for betting on match

Accrington defender Peter Cavanagh has been suspended from football for eight months and fined £3,500 for betting on Accrington's match against Bury on 3 May, 2008.

The Football Association announced the punishment today, following an independent regulatory commission hearing.

Regulatory commission chairman Nicholas Stewart QC said: "These were repeated deliberate breaches of the Football Association's betting rules which are vital to maintain confidence in the integrity of the game.

"These are serious offences by a club captain and therefore must be punished by a substantial period of suspension of eight months together with a fine of £3,500."

In July, four other players were banned for between five months and a year for betting on the outcome of the same match.

Three of the players were with Stanley at the time and the other at Bury, who won the game 2-0.

Jay Harris was banned for a year and fined a total of £5,500, David Mannix was given a 10-month ban and fined £4,000, and Robert Williams was suspended for eight months and fined £3,500.

Andrew Mangan, who was then a Bury player, was banned for five months and fined £2,000 for betting on his team to win.