Long-serving Ipswich Town kit man James Pullen has been sanctioned for misconduct in relation to betting rules.

The FA introduced strict new rules on gambling before the 2014/15 season which outlined that any form of bet on football is banned worldwide for all players, managers, coaches, club staff, directors and licensed agents at all levels of the professional game.

Pullen, 42, admitted that he placed 867 'relatively low stakes' bets on football matches between March 30, 2018 and March 13, 2024.

Of those 867 bets, 394 were placed on competitions that Ipswich Town were participating in and 126 were directly on Ipswich Town games.

The majority of those bets on Ipswich Town - 120 of the 126 - were as part of accumulators. An independent Regulatory Commission noted Pullen placed no bets on Ipswich Town to lose. He placed one spot bet in the form of a £5 single for an Ipswich player to score a hattrick against Rochdale on January 3, 2021 which failed.

The total amount staked by Pullen over the six-year period was £1,400.79. The returns on this were £792.67, with total losses of £608.12. 

The Commission, who 'accepted there was nothing suspicious about the betting', imposed a three-month suspension from all football and football-related activity, which is suspended in full until the end of the 2025/26 season, as well as a £750 fine.

The FA's report notes that Ipswich Town suspended Pullen from his duties on receipt of the charge, with it now understood that he has left his role at the club.

A club spokesperson declined to comment further.

Pullen made two senior appearances for Ipswich Town as a goalkeeper between 1999 and 2003. He returned to the club in 2013 as a masseur before taking on the role of kit man in 2015.