Six held on suspicion of English lower league match-fixing

LONDON (Reuters) - Police have arrested six men on suspicion of match-fixing in England, the National Criminal Agency (NCA) said on Wednesday, with the focus of attention on the lower leagues according to media reports.





"The NCA is working closely with the Gambling Commission and the Football Association," the NCA said in a statement.

"The focus of the operation is a suspected international illegal betting syndicate."

The Daily Telegraph, which has been investigating match-fixing across the globe for months, reported that the men arrested included three footballers and a former Premier League player who is now an agent.

According to the newspaper, the games are all in the lower leagues. The Telegraph did not specify the relevant divisions but one team is alleged to have been involved in three fixed games.

"The FA has been made aware of a number of arrests in relation to a National Crime Agency investigation," the FA said. "We have worked closely with the authorities in relation to these allegations."

The last major scandal of this sort in England occurred in the mid-1960s when 10 players were found guilty and jailed for conspiring to fix matches.

Among those sentenced were England pair Tony Kay and Peter Swan, and David 'Bronco' Layne, who all played for Sheffield Wednesday.

(Reporting by Mike Collett; editing by Tony Jimenez)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world