It is ridiculous that Gary Dempsey, the former Aberdeen midfielder, has been suspended by his club, St Patrick's, for having a £16 bet on his team to lose.

Dempsey knew he would not be involved so I find it very harsh that he should be punished in this way. I could understand it if it was a huge amount of money or if it was some type of scam, but it is patently just a casual bet on a team that he has an interest in - although clearly not a very high opinion of. The club officials are probably just annoyed that Dempsey believes his own team are not very good. Mike Francis, via email