A “devastated” Daniel Sturridge has maintained innocence after he was given a worldwide ban from football for a breach of betting regulations.

Sturridge was initially banned for two weeks and fined £75,000 last July after a Regulatory Commission ruled he provided inside information to his brother Leon over a possible transfer from Liverpool to Sevilla, which did not materialise.

The Football Association (FA) challenged that punishment, in the belief that it was too lenient, and an independent Appeal Board hit Sturridge with another two charges, which had originally been dismissed.

Sturridge has now been banned from all football-related activity until June 17 and had his fine doubled to £150,000.

The 30-year-old revealed on Monday he cut short his spell with Trabzonspor because he is unable to play and says bookmakers should not be allowed to take bets on transfer moves.