FOOTBALL is in meltdown over claims of match-fixing | The Sun |HomePage|Sport|Football
MATCH FIX BACKLASH:
FOOTBALL is in meltdown over claims a player threw a match to pay off his gambling debts.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wants life bans for match-fixers.
And a Premier League spokesman said: “If anybody has any evidence of match-fixing they should immediately report it to the relevant football bodies as well as the statutory authorities.”
The FA has launched a probe into the allegations that a player with Premier League experience accepted a £50,000 bribe to get himself sent off and persuade three team-mates to get booked.
The game is said to have been in Britain but it is not made clear if it was in England or at what level it was played.
The player was said to have been treated at the Sporting Chance clinic for stars with addiction problems.
Wenger said: “All of this leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
“It’s a shock and I believe that any single case you find, then you have to ban for life.
"I can’t believe it has happened in the Premier League. If it has, there is no excuse.
“Until now I never had a feeling football was not fair here in England but if it’s proven the guy sold the game for £50,000 it is a big surprise.
“If it is proven they should be banned for life — with no hearing.”
But players’ union chief Gordon Taylor is convinced the allegations are untrue.
He said: “I find it beyond the realms of credulity that a player would approach three others and ask them to get themselves booked.”