NICK Bunyard says that he will never work in the English game again after being suspended from football until July 2019 for breaching the FA’s betting rules.

The Frome Town boss, who has also been fined £3,000, has been hit with a ban relating to 97 bets between September 13, 2014, and April 9, 2016, 45 of which were placed against the Robins and Paulton Rovers while he was manager of the respective clubs.

A statement released by the FA told that an Independent Regulatory Commission heard how Bunyard admitted misconduct in relation to 97 breaches of FA Rule E8(1)(a)(i) relating to betting activity.

In August 2014, the FA set out that players, managers, club employees and match officials involved at Southern League level and above were banned from betting directly or indirectly on all football.

While not contesting that he is guilty of betting with ‘insider knowledge’, Bunyard feels that he has been scapegoated for something he says is systemic across the non-league circuit.

“First of all, the FA’s PR makes this look a lot worse than it is, particularly with the numbers that are mentioned,” Bunyard, who was originally charged in April, told the Wiltshire Times.

“I used Betfair, which is a betting exchange, and because of the way they work, I had to place multiple single bets of around 10p on games, so the 45 bets on my own team were actually on eight separate matches – we won four, lost two and drew two.

“Some people might look at this and question my integrity but match-fixing wasn’t on the charge sheet. Sometimes, I bet on us to lose and sometimes, I bet us on to win.

“One example was a match away at Redditch United with Frome (on March 21). We had nine first-team regulars missing and they were top-of-the-league.

“We were actually 1-0 up and were only robbed by the referee to allow them an equaliser, and anybody who was at the game would have seen how animated I was and how much I wanted us to win.

“You could say that the injuries were insider knowledge but anybody picking up the paper that morning would have known about them too.

“I was naïve and I hold my hands up for that because I deeply regret what I’ve done but I feel like I’ve been made a scapegoat.

“I know so many people across non-league football that bet on matches. It’s systemic and it’s one of those things that people do to soften the blow after a game.

“I never profited from those bets and I just moved on.

“I was suspended back in April and it’s taken until now for all of this to be sorted out, and the whole process has been shambolic.

“The FA have their rules against betting that they brought in two-and-a-half years ago but they don’t send people out to educate people and let them know: ‘we will catch you doing it and you will be sanctioned’.

“Frome and Jeremy (Alderman, chairman) have stuck by me but the club have been in limbo for so long because of this and it seems that the FA were happy to let things drag on this long because it’s non-league – you only have to look at how quickly they deal with things in the professional game.

“The whole ordeal has left me completely disillusioned with the FA and I’ve got no desire to ever work in football in this country again.”

Meanwhile, Frome’s board of directors have also released a statement this morning, offering their support to Bunyard.

The Robins’ statement read: “First, it is important to say we in no way condone Nick’s gambling on football, against the FA rules, and fully accept that he deserved to be reprimanded in some way.

“There was never any suggestion of ‘match-fixing’ and no accusation of such. The offence was using inside information (knowledge of injuries etc.) to gain an advantage over the bookmaker.

“Our disappointment lies in both the way the case has been handled and, we believe, the disproportionate punishment in respect of the offence.

“When considering the length of ban, and £3000 fine, we as a club feel this is excessive, particularly in respect of the high-profile cases, none higher than the previous England manager (Sam Allardyce), who seem to be dealt with immediately.

“When the hearing finally took place this week, I think it’s fair to say that everyone was glad to see the end of it after such a protracted period.

“It is important to add that, as a club we have had to continuously chase the FA for information and to ask them to speed up the progress as this has caused massive disruption to us, the players and the rest of the management team.”