A starting player for the Algerian national team has just been sanctioned for “illegal sports betting”.
It is not only in Italy that professional players are giving in to the scourge of sports betting. In France too, this phenomenon is present. Thursday evening, the Disciplinary Commission communicated the list of players and educators from professional clubs who have not respected, for the 2022/2023 season, the ban imposed by the Sports Code. A list which includes some well-known names.
Algeria could have lost one of its starters
Among the players who were caught by the patrol there is a current player from the Algerian selection. A player who even started Thursday during the Greens’ match against Somalia (3-1) in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. This is goalkeeper Anthony Mandrea.
Mandrea committed his offense while playing for Caen (in Ligue 2). And for this error, he will have to pay a fine of 2000 euros. Given the amount, one can imagine that the violation committed is derisory. Other players were punished more heavily. For example, Pierre Espoir Massinou Nkouba of the AJA reserve team was suspended for five matches (plus a 500 euro fine).
For Mandrea (26 years old), it is still a lesson to learn. He better not fall into the same trap again, otherwise his career could seriously suffer. And that would be very bad because he is preparing to play his very first international tournament with the CAN 2024 which is looming in Ivory Coast. Djamel Belmadi having made his number one choice in the woods since Rais M’Bolhi’s decline.
