The FA’s head of football integrity, David Newton, has admitted to a Sunday newspaper that the English game’s governing body has put a number of players suspected of a connection to match-fixing on a “watch list”.
Those on the list have been put on notice to report any suspicious activity to the FA or otherwise face punishment. While they cannot be prevented from playing, they are are considered to be “persons of interest” in the FA’s fight against fixing, Newton said.
“In the event that we believe somebody is connected in some way [to fixing] we may remind them of their responsibilities, Newton told the Mail On Sunday.
“We can seek various written confirmations from them that they have nothing they wish to share with us in terms of breaches of our rules or those of any other body or international association, and they will inform us the minute they do become aware of anything.”
The FA reminded Vanarama Conference South clubs of their responsibilities to abide by its rules in March last year after suspicious betting patterns were reported to it, but no formal police investigation took place.
Advertisement
The National Crime Agency (NCA) became involved in a separate case which led to the convictions and imprisonment of Sanjay Ganeshan and Chann Sankaran in June over a conspiracy to fix matches in England in November.
“These matters are now treated with the utmost seriousness by all the relevant agencies. We’re a lot happier in relation to the manner in which these matters are dealt with now,” Darren Bailey, the FA’s director of governance and regulation, added.
• DJ Campbell, the former Premier League striker, said that he considered giving up football after being arrested in connection with a match-fixing investigation last year. The then Blackburn Rovers player was one of six people detained in an investigation by the NCA over a yellow card he received in a Sky Bet Championship encounter against Ipswich Town in December, but he was released without charge last month. The much-travelled 32-year-old, who denied any wrongdoing throughout, now hopes to return to the game after leaving Blackburn in July. “There were times when I seriously considered walking away from football and retiring. But friends and family were very supportive. I guess I was just in a very bad place,” he told the Independent on Sunday.