English Soccer Star Was Banned WORLDWIDE And Fined $191,000 For Being A Best Friend And Telling People Where He'd Sign So They Could Potentially Win Bets

[Source] - Former Liverpool and England striker Daniel Sturridge has been suspended from all football-related activity until June 17 after he was found guilty of breaching betting rules, English football's governing body (FA) said on Monday.

The 30-year-old was accused of passing on inside information about his potential transfer moves away from Liverpool in Jan. 2018 to close friends and relatives that was then used for, or in relation to, betting

Sturridge's fine was also doubled to £150,000 ($191,400) and the FA said world governing body FIFA confirmed the suspension would be effective worldwide.

Sure this might be frowned upon, but this is the type of friend you need. Instead of giving you his hard earned money being a soccer star, he just tells you where he's thinking of transferring so you can put a bet on it. Maybe he changes his mind. It's still a risk. But this is the type of guy I want in a foxhole with me. 

What I want to know is do these friends get hit with any penalties? Sturridge is getting killed with the suspension, fine and leaving his new team, but did those who win bets still win? If so, what a deal for them. You get to win some cash thanks to your friend with no penalties. That seems like an important detail left out here. 

I get Sturridge's argument too. 

"I'm going to continue to campaign for professional footballers to be able to speak to their families and close friends freely, without the real risk of being charged.

"I feel the betting companies and the practice and process of people placing bets on players moving clubs has to be stopped."

If you're sitting there and discussing with friends some options and say you know I'm thinking of leaning towards team A. Is that a penalty? I don't think so. How many people who are debating a job move talk to family and friends. Granted you can bet on whether you go to accounting job A or B. 

I say this in pretty much every soccer blog I write, but imagine if this happened here in America. Imagine if LeBron tipped people off before The Decision and people made money? What would the reaction be? We joke about the NBA being THIS LEAGUE, but nothing tops it more than European soccer. There's always something crazy happening week in and week out across the pond.