Martin Demichelis will not contest FA charge over alleged betting offences

Manchester: Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis will not contest a Football Association charge over alleged betting offences, Press Association Sport understands.

The 35-year-old is accused of 12 breaches of FA rule E8 concerning matches played between January 22 and 28 this year.

Gambling rules introduced in 2014 forbid players and coaches from betting on any footballing activity worldwide.

Demichelis had until 5pm on Tuesday to respond to the charge and while there has been no official statement from the club or the FA, it is understood Demichelis will accept it.

It is not thought that any of the alleged breaches relate to any games in which Demichelis or City have been involved.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini did not want to be distracted by the issue when asked about it at his scheduled press conference to preview his side's Champions League quarter-final at Paris Saint-Germain.

Pellegrini said: "I speak with Martin every day but now we are just thinking about the game. I didn't want to disturb him from different things. He is involved in the game tomorrow and I am sure he will give the correct answer in the correct moment."