Burnley Lead Analyst Bredice suspended for betting breaches

Richard Bredice, Burnley’s Lead Performance Analyst and Set Piece Coach, has lost his job and been banned from football for 12 months (with six months suspended) for breaching betting rules.

An independent Regulatory Commission found that Bredice had placed 67 bets on matches or competitions that involved his own club while at Manchester City and Burnley. He also placed 12 ‘inside information’ bets, mainly on potential club transfers, while at City.

Bredice was suspended for 12 months, with six months suspended to the end of the 2025/26 season, as well as being fined £4500 and asked to pay £500 towards costs.

Bredice was a first-team opposition analyst for Manchester City from 2013 to 2019, before moving with former City player Vincent Kompany to Anderlecht as an analyst at the start of 2019/20. In June 2022, he moved with Kompany to Burnley, becoming Lead Performance Analyst and Set Piece Coach.

The Regulatory Commission hearing was held on June 13th, with its findings published yesterday (July 3rd). The Commission heard that between November 1st 2014 and December 13th 2022 Bredice had placed 456 bets on football matches, making a total profit of £2350.45.

Crucially, 67 of these were ‘own club bets’ involving games in competitions in which Bredice’s clubs were competing. Some were on Manchester City to lose. The total profit of the own club bets was £2162.40.

The Football Association also outlined 12 ‘inside information bets’ that had been placed, in which Bredice was ‘privy to information by virtue of his employment’ by Manchester City. Eleven of these bets were successful, resulting in an overall profit of £1739.86.

One bet of £515.62 was made the morning after the Manchester City staff party. Bredice denied he had been privy to inside information, arguing he did not have close relationships with players and was the “smallest of small cogs” in a “massive organisation.”

FA Rule E8 states that a ‘participant’ cannot place a bet on ‘the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of… a football match or competition… in which the participant is participating, or has participated in that season; or in which the participant has any influence, either direct or indirect.’

In addition, they must not bet on ‘any other matter concerning or related to any club participating in any league competition… including… the transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or disciplinary matters.’

The definition of a participant includes ‘all employees and officials of the club.’

The Commission noted that Bredice had “admitted the charge in full” and “co-operated fully with the FA”. He had also “expressed remorse for his breach of the FA’s betting rules and had expressed regret that his knowledge of those rules was limited.”

Kompany and Burnley Chief Operating Officer Matt Williams wrote letters of support for Bredice to the Commission. Williams also explained that Bredice would inevitably lose his job at Burnley were he suspended for a ’significant period of time’ in asking for mitigation.