What game was "thrown"?

[Keano!]

As you probably all know, there was an article in a newspaper recently which
declared that a Premier League team had a player who accepted a large sum of
money from a bookmaker to pay off debts, in return getting himself sent-off and
three teammates booked. Apparently this occurred over the last two years.

This is an absolute disgrace and its just not on. I don't care who did it, its not
right and it should be punished heavily.

The following are a list of games which are liable to have severe investigations
applied to. They date from 6th April '07 till present. The team in bold,
is the one which had a sending off and three yellows, (at least)


Arsenal 2 - 1 Bolton
Reading 1-2 Chelsea
Newcastle 1-0 Wigan
Man Utd 2-0 Blackburn
Tottenham 2-1 Man City
Wigan 5-3 Blackburn
Tottenham 5-1 Fulham
Reading 0-2 Portsmouth
Blackburn 1-0 Sunderland
Liverpool 3-2 Middlesbrough


I can't seem to find any data on stats for matches beyond this point. (Sorry)

But these teams above can all keep an eye over their shoulders. The things we
do know are:

Manchester United FC aren't involved
The FA will have a big job on their hands
The victims will suffer big time, should they be found



What do you think of all of this?

[nigelchin]

CHELSEA! or maybe ARSE-NAL. :D

[reddwarf]

The article I read said it was a former Premier League player and the game was 'in Britain' during the last 2 years so it could have been an EPL or SPL game from April 2006 onwards.

It also says that the team in question lost the game so you can rule out a few of those fixtures straight away.

[Justice]

Said British game not necessarily English.

And seeing as the bribe was only 50k then I'm guessing its not a big English club, even Fulham would probably turn down 50k to throw a game =/

[Harvo]

Could be in ireland or wales if they have leagues too...

[Keano!]

Looks like I've sorta screwed this up then! :o:o:o

[Keano!]

Could be in ireland or wales if they have leagues too...

If they have leagues! :eek:

I'll tell you that Ireland have some of the finest football teams in the land! :p

Nothing like gong to the Carisle Grounds to watch Bray Wanderers battle for 89
minutes and concede 2 in the last 2 minutes! :p.....Good craic though!

[reddwarf]

It's just been pointed out to me that it could have been a game in the lower divisions in which a former Premiership player was playing.

NO NAMES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED but the rumour doing the rounds is it's Djemba-Djemba...

30.01.2007
Derby County 1-0 Burnley

Burnley...sent off Djemba Djemba
booked...Mahon, Foster and Harley

[Keano!]

Will the team suffer or will he lads?

After all, the team hardly knew about it........

[SALFORD RED]

This is what i think...

The Football Association is to investigate allegations that a former Premier League footballer accepted a £50,000 bribe to help throw a game.

The player got himself sent off and persuaded three team-mates to get booked in a game "in Britain" in the last two years, says The Independent.

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

"We will be making inquiries about the story," an FA spokesman told BBC Sport.

Players are prohibited from betting on matches or competitions in which they are involved under FA rules.

"First we need to find out if the match was inside our jurisdiction - the story says it was in Britain, but we don't know if it was in England," the FA spokesman added.

So it could be any player who has left a Premier League team since the League started. He could have been playing for any team in Britain when it is supposed to have happened.
It doesn't say that it involved a Premiership team, it doesn't even say that it was a game in England.

But...to quote Keano!

It is an absolute disgrace and its just not on. I don't care who did it, its not
right and it should be punished heavily.
.

[Red Devil]

Its a news item in here, speculation is fruitless, nothing has yet been revealed

[versa]

Its a news item in here, speculation is fruitless, nothing has yet been revealed

:eek:

That is exactly what we are bantering about.;) :D

And bantering inevitably involves a certain amount of speculation.:)

[Nemanjaaa]

I reckon Blackburn could be ruled out for the simple reason that they always get yellows and reds anyway.
Cant see how he can physically get 3 of his team yellows as well :| ?

[Justice]

It's just been pointed out to me that it could have been a game in the lower divisions in which a former Premiership player was playing.

NO NAMES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED but the rumour doing the rounds is it's Djemba-Djemba...

30.01.2007
Derby County 1-0 Burnley

Burnley...sent off Djemba Djemba
booked...Mahon, Foster and Harley

I can believe that, Djemba was thick as ***** and can see him potentially ruining his career for 50k.


edit: stl - swearing

[Keano!]

I can believe that, Djemba was thick as (]wood[/B]) and can see him potentially ruining his career for 50k.



Language! please! :p.....;)

[nigelchin]

hmmm djemba djemba sounds a little impossible. after all he could have earn enough well he was with us and villa. hmmm. i think it might be a player from lower leagues. a former premier league player might be someone from the reserves but did played a few match yet deemed not good enough? LOL but its all speculation though. still, its disgraceful, spoils the game's image.

[versa]

Interesting read and follow up.....


[Source: Fox Sports]

Arsene Wenger says the Sporting Chance clinic have a duty to name the player who allegedly says he accepted a £50,000 bribe to 'fix' a match.

Arsenal manager Wenger has also declared anyone found guilty of such an offence should be "banned for life".

The Football Association are to investigate a report by The Independent that a player with a serious gambling problem agreed a deal with a bookmaker to write off his debts.

The match is said to have been played in the last two years "in Britain", but the report did not name the player nor state which league or home nation was involved.

The player, it is claimed, agreed to get himself sent off and persuade three team-mates to pick up cautions in a specific match.

The case was disclosed in a seminar on gambling at the Sporting Chance clinic in Hampshire this week, and the clinic's chief executive Peter Kay confirmed he was aware of the issue.

Wenger feels the clinic - founded in 2000 by former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams to help professional sports people battling addictions - have a responsibility to make details of the discussions public.

"He has to come out really with it because I don't think it's fair," said the Gunners boss.

"If there is a confidentiality problem, then he (Sporting Chance Clinic) shuts his mouth completely.

"I believe it throws suspicion into our sport that is unfair unless you name the guy."

Wenger maintained: "I don't think it is a problem. However, match-fixing is horrible. I never could believe that it could happen here.

"You want justice to be done. If you want to win the game and you know that the matches are fixed, the sport has no chance.

"For any single case that you find, you have to ban for life."

Wenger, though, accepts it is difficult to implement a blanket ban on all players gambling, or on certain aspects of the match which have now become popular via spread-betting.

"If you say I bet on the first corner, the guy can say: 'okay corner'. What is a corner? It will not influence the game," he said.

"At the moment, the gambling exists and it is difficult to stop it."

Wenger saw first hand the influence of corruption when he coached in France, where his Monaco side were beaten to the championship by Marseille, who were themselves later relegated for financial irregularities and a match-fixing scandal.

The Arsenal manager, though, believes such cases are not rife within the English game.

He said: "It (gambling) is part of the culture, but it did not stop this country to have a rather clean league.

"Until now I never had a feeling it was not fair - but if that is proven that the guy has sold the game for £50,000 it is a big surprise to me.

"I think it is a one-off."

Wenger - who worked with both Adams and self-confessed gambler Paul Merson during his decade in charge - reflected: "It is an addiction as anything else. When you have 100 people, 90 or 95 can deal with the addiction, they play reasonably. Five of them maybe they become crazy and they are ready to sell their wife or all their furniture."

The Arsenal manager is convinced such issues can affect the performance of players on the pitch.

"When I was a player we played cards and for a little bit of money - but already at that time when I played the money became too high and had an influence on some players," he said.

"If you go into a game and you have already lost your bonus before you play you could see it affected mentally the players.

"You would prefer for the players not to gamble among themselves before a game because it raises the tension individually. You do not want that.

"Unless I am completely naive, I don't really believe that exists in my teams. Nowadays, more you have every guy on his computer watching a film, rather than playing cards.

"It was before, now I feel it has disappeared."

Wenger - who came to Highbury in September 1996 - recalled: "My main priority (when I came to Arsenal) was that everybody should live as a sportsman.

"I was lucky because Tony Adams had just changed at that time, he was a leader here and cleaned up his life completely. Since then, he has showed what kind of results you get from that.

"With Paul Merson it was addiction to gambling and he came out on drugs. At the time he was here with me he was clean because he had just come out as well."

Players' chief Gordon Taylor has doubts the claims are true, and believes the player involved may have over-elaborated.

Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association said: "I find it beyond the realms of credulity that a player would approach three others and ask them to get themselves booked.

"We support that clinic and their attempts to get players on track and it is disappointing that something like this should emanate from them.

"I do think in such seminars that stories can get over-elaborated for effect."

The FA, meanwhile, will now look to establish whether the match concerned took place in England, otherwise it would be beyond their jurisdiction.



It's just been pointed out to me that it could have been a game in the lower divisions in which a former Premiership player was playing.

NO NAMES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED but the rumour doing the rounds is it's Djemba-Djemba...

30.01.2007
Derby County 1-0 Burnley

Burnley...sent off Djemba Djemba
booked...Mahon, Foster and Harley

Uncomfortably coincidental?!! See Fox Sports article above.

Hope not. :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Clarky101]

If they have leagues! :eek:

I'll tell you that Ireland have some of the finest football teams in the land! :p

Nothing like gong to the Carisle Grounds to watch Bray Wanderers battle for 89
minutes and concede 2 in the last 2 minutes! :p.....Good craic though!

sorry for changing the subject but this intrigues me lol. whats the irish league all about then. whats the level of football, the best team, the best player, and the most memorable match you can think of?

and is football big out there like it is in england and scotland, isit highly televised, and is their good money in being a professional out there?

wow my 100th post on a manutd forum was about irish football. didnt expect that when i joined this forum

[Keano4taoiseach]

I was just thinking, Could you imagine Keano's reaction if one of his fellow players was trying to fix a game :eek: ouch

[-zuco-]

I can believe that, Djemba was thick as ***** and can see him potentially ruining his career for 50k.


edit: stl - swearing

Swearing twice in one day. Read the rules man!

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg239/_zuco_/rulez.gif

http://www.manutdtalk.com/forums/forum-rules/8397-forum-rules.html

[PITTM]

I came into this thread to say I think it was djemba djemba, looks like someone beat me to it.

[Red Devil]

That is exactly what we are bantering about.

And bantering inevitably involves a certain amount of speculation.:)of which delivers absolutely nothing - specuate all you like but I bet that if and when it comes out, you'll all be wrong ;)

[Andreas_svan]

hmmm djemba djemba sounds a little impossible. after all he could have earn enough well he was with us and villa. hmmm. i think it might be a player from lower leagues. a former premier league player might be someone from the reserves but did played a few match yet deemed not good enough? LOL but its all speculation though. still, its disgraceful, spoils the game's image.

A son of a royalf familly in burnei lost around 80 000 000 000 in a year^^ so i think it could be anyone:P

[Wazza1989]

Mascherano could be another case....in the game against us...Torres also was cautioned with a yellow card....and so on

[fazman]

If they have leagues! :eek:

I'll tell you that Ireland have some of the finest football teams in the land! :p

Nothing like gong to the Carisle Grounds to watch Bray Wanderers battle for 89
minutes and concede 2 in the last 2 minutes! :p.....Good craic though!


This shows the lack of football knowledge some of our fellow posters have

[reddwarf]

hmmm djemba djemba sounds a little impossible. after all he could have earn enough well he was with us and villa. hmmm. i think it might be a player from lower leagues. a former premier league player might be someone from the reserves but did played a few match yet deemed not good enough? LOL but its all speculation though. still, its disgraceful, spoils the game's image.

Djemba-Djemba had serious financial problems when playing in England and at one stage had to declare himself bankrupt.

From the Daily Mail...

The agent of former Manchester United and Aston Villa midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba has revealed the amazing spending the Cameroon international went through in his time in England.

With his client allegedly running a fleet of 10 4x4 vehicles and juggling cash between an astonishing 30 different bank accounts, agent Christopher Mongay paints a sorry tale of an African footballer drowning in a sea of unsustainable credit.

Mongay told the Daily Mail: "Eric is on a different planet. He simply has no notion of money. At one point, he had 30 different bank accounts. He was juggling between credits.

"There was a time when he owned 10 4x4-drive cars - 10! I kept telling him all the time to watch out. When he arrived at Manchester United, I decided to take over the running of his accounts. It used to take me four hours a day! At United he was earning about £75,000 basic per month.

"But every penny was going straight to loan repayments. He was having to live on bonuses and extras. He started to ask United for advances and, at a club like that, something like that doesn't go down well."

Years later - following a £1.5m transfer to David O'Leary's Aston Villa in January 2005 - things had not changed. A Villa source said: "Eric was a nice guy. But he wasn't in the team and every time I saw him he just looked bored. He drove one of the biggest cars at the club, like a Hummer. People expected one of the club's really big stars to get out of it. But it was Eric. He would wear designer clothes and look flash, even though underneath he was not."

Declared bankrupt at a Birmingham court last September, Cameroon midfielder Djemba-Djemba is currently earning a relatively modest £15,000 a month playing for the Qatar SC club in the Middle East.