Arsenal Player Gets Betting Warning

Arsenal player, Jack Wilshere, has been warned by football authorities about a tweet he made in December last year which implied that he may have been involved in betting on the sport.

The midfielder, who is considered one of the brightest players in European football, posted the message urging followers to bet on his teammate, Emanuel Frimpong to score the first goal against their rivals, the Greek Olympiakos during a Champions League match, saying that he was "worth a cheeky £10."

Frimpong went on to narrowly miss scoring a goal, to which Wilshere tweeted: "Frimmy nearly won me some money there!"

Wilshere Didn't Actually Bet on Game

Later on, the 20 year old Wilshere said that he had only been joking when he took his viewers to the social networking platform Twitter.

"I didn't actually bet on the game," he tweeted. "I know we're not allowed to! I was only messing!"

Nevertheless, in May this year, the disciplinary panel for UEFA decided to officially warn Wilshere about his tweets and reminded him that professional players are barred from betting on soccer.

"The player has been warned for breach of the principles of integrity in matches and competition," said a spokesperson for UEFA.

UEFA Betting Warning Criticised

Blogs and sites dedicated to football were buzzing with the news of the official warning regarding football betting, many of them critical that UEFA felt the need to even investigate the matter in the first place.

As one blogger wrote about the Arsenal player betting warning: "Somehow UEFA felt that this required a seven month long investigation (!) and a statement released today said they had written to Wilshere to warn him and remind him of his responsibilities, 'The player has been warned for being in breach of the principles of integrity of matches and competitions. The disciplinary measure was a warning.' The mind boggles as to how this inquiry took 7 months but at least UEFA are putting time and resources into the real issues...

The talented Wilshere has always played above his age for the English national team. When he was just 15, he was named in the squad for the 2009 UEFA Under-17 Football Championship.

In 2010, he was called for the senior squad for the first time, making him the 10th youngest player ever to play for the national team. Last year, he made his full debut before an injury left him on the bench for the most of the season.