The Football Association is looking into a yellow card issued to an Arsenal player during a Premier League game this season, amid concerns about suspicious betting trends.
According to The Athletic, a bookmaker notified the FA that an extraordinary amount of money was bet on the player receiving a booking during a league match.
The Athletic claim to know the player’s identify but have chosen not to release his name at this time owing to privacy concerns.
“The FA is aware of the incident in question and is looking into it,” the FA told The Athletic.
The amount of money wagered on the bet is described as ‘very rare.’Spot betting refers to betting on certain outcomes in games, like as a corner being taken at a specific moment or a card being given.
It is troublesome for football’s governing organizations because, unlike routine bets like as the winner of a match, a single individual can influence the outcome of a bet.
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Spot fixing is a huge issue in football leagues all around the world, but it is regarded to be comparatively uncommon in the Premier League, where players are paid more.
However, there have been earlier examples of it in English football.
Following his retirement, former England international Matt Le Tissier admitted that he had conspired with pals to wager on the timing of the opening throw-in in a 1995 match for Southampton against Wimbledon.
In his autobiography, Le Tissier stated that he attempted to “earn a few pounds” by kicking the ball out of play in order to profit from a bet on the first throw in occurring in the first minute of the match.
The plan, however, backfired when a teammate prevented the ball from leaving the field.
The incident was reported to Hampshire Police, but no investigation was undertaken because the agency determined that it “would not be in the public interest and (did) not constitute proper use of police resources.”
Meanwhile, the FA banned former Lincoln City midfielder Bradley Wood for six years in 2018 for telling pals to gamble on him being booked in FA Cup matches against Ipswich and Burnley.
