Joey Barton has confirmed that his suspension from football will prevent him from participating in a charity football match to help support those affected by last month’s Grenfell Tower fire.
Barton was handed a ban by the Football Association in April after breaching betting rules. Initially, his suspension was supposed to expire on October 25, 2018 but has since been brought forward to June 1, 2018 following an appeal.
Game4Grenfell will take place on September 2 at Queens Park Rangers’ Loftus Road Stadium – just a mile away from the tower block.
Barton had hoped to join many of the former professional footballers and celebrities set to take part in the match, but has confirmed via a tweet on Friday that, as things stand, his suspension means he will not be able to participate.
“[The] FA have decided my ban extends to helping a great cause,” he tweeted. “So unfortunately, unless someone engages their brain, I won’t make it.”
Along with this, he also attached a screenshot of an email, presumably sent by one of the game’s organisers, which explains that his ban still applies as the game is set to be FA sanctioned.
…but @FA have decided my ban extends to helping a great cause. So unfortunately, unless someone engages their brain, I won't make it. pic.twitter.com/AmDu7gOYw3
— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) July 28, 2017
Alan Shearer, David Seaman and Trevor Sinclair are some of the players that have already signed up for Game4Grenfell, with more expected to be confirmed in the coming days.
Further information on the game can be found here.
