Burnley manager Sean Dyche has said that he feels Joey Barton's 18-month ban from football for a betting-related misconduct charge is excessive.
The 34-year-old was given the punishment by the Football Association on Wednesday after admitting a charge of placing bets on 1,260 matches, which he put down to a gambling addiction.
Barton hinted that he could call time on his playing career as a result of the suspension, keeping him out of action until October 2018, and Dyche believes that the midfielder has been hard done by when compared to the nine-month ban given to Eric Cantona for aiming a kung-fu kick at a Crystal Palace fan in 1995.
"He feels it's a bit harsh. It's something that happened before he came back with us," he told reporters. "He's disappointed. We feel it's a bit harsh. I don't know how you balance these things in football.
"The legend that is Eric Cantona got a nine-month ban. We know the rules and I must make that clear. But there's no intent on his part other than his own personal gambling. There was no attempt to change games.
"Eighteen months seems a long time to me. The FA have a role and we respect that decision. They're obviously showing strength in these decisions, I can only assume they're going to move on to stamp out cheating and diving too. I'm sure they'll move on to the bigger picture."
Barton's current deal at Turf Moor, signed when joining as a free agent earlier this year, expires at the end of the season.
Daniel Lewis
