[Iron_Maiden]

I must admit I have not heard anything like this before in England.It happened in Italy 2 years ago and Juventus went down from the first spot in the table to Serie B,but this case...How do you think are there any chances that the former player is declared guilty?

Originally Posted by uk.reuters.com

FA to investigate bribery claims
The English Football Association (FA) said on Friday it will investigate allegations that a former Premier League player accepted a 50,000 pounds bribe to help throw a game.

The player, who has not been named, got himself sent off and also persuaded three team mates to get booked in a match played somewhere in Britain in the last two years, The Independent newspaper said on Friday.

In exchange, a bookmaker allegedly agreed to write off the 50,000 pounds debt the player had racked up.

An FA spokesman told Reuters: "We will be starting inquiries about the story immediately and the first thing we need to establish is if the match was played in England or not. The story says Britain, but we don't know if it was in England.

"There are very clear rules on betting which state players must not gamble on competitions they are taking part in and any threat to the integrity of our competitions is taken very seriously."

The case came to light at a seminar on gambling at the Sporting Chance Clinic, held in Hampshire, southern England, earlier this week.

The player in question has been treated at Sporting Chance, a centre for the treatment of players with problems which is supported financially by the FA and Professional Footballers Association.

Bribery and corruption cases have been relatively rare in English soccer, although a number of players have admitted being addicted to gambling in the recent past including former Arsenal and England midfielder Paul Merson and current West Ham United player Matthew Etherington.

The last major bribery case in England was in the early 1960s and resulted in jail terms and life bans for 10 players including Sheffield Wednesday's Peter Swan, Tony Kay and David "Bronco" Layne.


In 1915 a first division match in which Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-0 was also found to be fixed and four members of each team were banned for life.

FA to investigate bribery claims | Sports | Reuters

[TeKnIcIaN]

Well, at least now we know why Mascherano kept on chipping away at the referee.....

[Torque]

Originally Posted by TeKnIcIaN

Well, at least now we know why Mascherano kept on chipping away at the referee.....

That would be the cherry on the top of the cake, wouldn't it?

[losangeles]

This seems a far cry from what happened in Italy. The article I read in The Sun had more bite in the headline than the story itself. I think this is a small time one off, and not a deep seeded stain on the top level in England.

Originally Posted by thesun.co.uk

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.”