Former Frome Town manager Nick Bunyard made £1,400 betting against his team when he knew all of his goalkeepers were unavailable, a Football Association regulatory commission report has revealed.
The 36-year-old was given a three-year ban by the FA earlier this month for placing 97 football bets between September 2014 and April 2016, including 45 against Frome and his former club Paulton Rovers.
The FA has now published the commission's "written reasons" on its website and the 24-page report reveals that Bunyard made a total of £2,600 in profit on stakes that came to almost £7,000.
"The 45 bets that were placed by [Nick Bunyard] on the team he was managing at the time to lose represent an extremely serious aggravating factor,'' said the three-man panel.
Regulatory Commission releases reasons for Nick Bunyard suspension after Frome boss breached FA betting rules: https://t.co/ECSEpirRjF
- The FA (@FA) November 21, 2016
"Such bets give rise to a clear and significant conflict of interest.''
Bunyard told the commission he tried to win every game "110 percent,'' he made bets based on "unavoidable facts'' about his players' fitness and he would always prefer to win the game than the bet. He also said he only placed some bets to boost certain players' end-of-year kitty.
But this defence was compromised by several aggravating factors, including the 19 bets he placed on Frome to lose to Weymouth in April when the Somerset club was without four goalkeepers, forcing them to use an outfield player in goal.
Bunyard made several bets -- via four different betting operators -- on Frome to lose by more than 1.5 goals. The final result was 2-0 to Weymouth.
The panel said that, whatever his intentions, Bunyard's actions resulted in a "serious case of insider dealing which gave him a material advantage in the betting market.''
Life is too short! Relax take a breath. Move forward
- nick bunyard (@bunnygunner) November 9, 2016
He was also reprimanded for making nine bets on a game involving Frome the day after he was provisionally suspended by the club. He told the panel he was drunk when he did so.
Given the seriousness of his offences, the commission believed a four-year ban was in order, but gave him a 25 percent reduction for his cooperation and some personal circumstances that he and his family had to deal with that were left undisclosed but described as "extremely difficult.''
Bunyard was cleared of an additional charge of breaching his suspension by contacting a former Paulton Rovers player on behalf of Frome Town and attending a match as a spectator. The report also acknowledged that betting in non-league football is probably "rife.''
After his ban was announced on Nov. 9, Bunyard tweeted: "Life is too short! Relax take a breath. Move forward.''
And last week he expressed his surprise on Twitter when former Rangers midfielder Joey Barton was given a one-game ban for placing 44 bets on football matches.
Frome Town are currently sixth in the Southern League Premier Division, having finished 16th last season.