FA will investigate bribe claims

God

Super Moderator

The Football Association is to investigate allegations that a former Premier League footballer accepted a £50,000 bribe to help throw a game.

The player got himself sent off and persuaded three team-mates to get booked in a game "in Britain" in the last two years, says The Independent.

In exchange, a bookmaker allegedly agreed to write off a £50,000 debt the player had racked up.
"We will be making inquiries about the story," an FA spokesman told BBC Sport.

Players are prohibited from betting on matches or competitions in which they are involved under FA rules.

"First we need to find out if the match was inside our jurisdiction - the story says it was in Britain, but we don't know if it was in England," the FA spokesman added.







The case was disclosed privately by a source at a seminar on gambling at the Sporting Chance Clinic in Hampshire this week.

The player in question has been treated at Sporting Chance, which is supported financially by the FA and Professional Footballers Association.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said any player proven to have accepted a bribe to throw a game should be banned for life.

"I believe that the most important thing is that our game is clean," Wenger said.

"It is surprising news and very bad news. I am convinced that if it is proven they should be banned for life.
"If one player has done that you have 99.9% of players who have never done it. But you have to convict the one player who has done that.
"It's not down to human nature. Everyone has to stand up for their own acts and take responsibility for what he is doing."




Step forward Roy Keane

The Phantom

I bet it was a match involving Newi Cefn Druids. They've always looked a bit dodgy to me!