Photograph by Rick Dikeman
Three footballers have been arrested by police in an investigation into match-fixing in the UK along with three other men.
The arrests follow a large-scale investigation into match fixing in Asia, which recently resulted in a number of high profile arrests including one so-called “Mr Big”.
The newly formed National Crime Agency (NCA) worked closely with the FA in investigating the claims and making the arrests.
The undercover journalists from The Daily Telegraph made a video recording showing a well known “fixer” correctly predicting the results of three games
The names of the clubs and individuals allegedly involved cannot be disclosed due to the nature of the investigation, but no Premier league clubs are reported to have been implicated. The fixer said that lower league games in Britain could be fixed for just £50,000, and for an extra £5,000 fee players would take a yellow card early in the game to signal to the betting syndicates that the result of the games was being manipulated.
The bets from match-fixing syndicates are reported to have been made on British games at Asian betting websites, with the UK’s betting markets not targeted.
In a statement, the FA responded to the Daily Telegraph’s investigation by saying:
The FA has been made aware of a number of arrests in relation to a National Crime Agency investigation.
We have worked closely with the authorities in relation to this investigation. The FA will make no further comment due to it being an on-going investigation.