By Andrew Warshaw
December 10 – The spot-fixing scandal that has rocked English football has moved up a gear with the relevation that five of the six men arrested are past or present players, the most high profile being DJ Campbell, a striker with Blackburn Rovers in the second tier of the domestic game who previously played in the Premier League with three different clubs.
According to The Sun on Sunday, detectives are reviewing the yellow card Campbell received for a foul he committed in the first half of Blackburn’s league against Ipswich last Tuesday. In another of his five appearances this season, he was sent off after coming on as a substitute against Blackpool.
The arrests came following a newspaper sting in which former Nigerian international defender Sam Sodje, who has played for a variety of English professional league clubs and is now a free agent, told an undercover reporter how he punched an opponent to deliberately get a red card in exchange for £70,000 in a fixture last February – and also bragged how he could rig games involving fellow professionals for betting fraudsters.
Five of the suspects arrested following Sodje’s disclosures have been named in newspaper reports – but not by police – as Campbell, Oldham striker Christian Montano, Tranmere defender Ian Goodison, Sodje himself and his brother Akpo, who also plays for Tranmere. Five of the six arrested have been released on bail until April next year pending further inquiries.
Spot-fixing, as distinct from match-fixing, is where a player agrees to influence a specific aspect of a match rather than trying to fix the actual score, for example getting a yellow card or giving away corner kicks.
Campbell has played in the Premier League for Birmingham, Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers and in a statement his current club confirmed he had been detained but would make no further comment.
It is understood Campbell, who signed full-time for Blackburn in July after previously being on loan, is unlikely to feature in their home Championship game against Millwall on Saturday.
On Monday, the Sun reported that Goodison was also among the six arrested. Tranmere said it was “aware of reports” but had no further comment. The newspaper also reported that Montano had actually apologised to Sodje after failing to get a yellow card in the first half of a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers in October.
The allegations prompted the National Crime Agency to launch an inquiry working with the country’s Gambling Commission and both main football authorities.
A statement from the Professional Footballers Association said the allegations, if proven, demonstrated “the real issue football faces in terms of corruption” and showed how important it was to educate players of the risks. “We take the issue of integrity very seriously and will continue in our efforts to eradicate this evil from our game,” it added.
Meanwhile, senior figures from across five major sports have been invited for talks with government officials. Britiain’s Culture Secretary Maria Miller has called a meeting with leaders from football, cricket, horse racing, rugby league and rugby union to discuss what measures have been put in place to ensure fair play.
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