Former Albion player among six arrested on match fixing claims
Six men including a former West Bromwich Albion player have been arrested on suspicion of fixing football matches.
Police are investigating an Asian betting syndicate suspected of fixing games in the lower leagues of English football.
Among the men being held are three current footballers and ex-Albion player-turned-agent Delroy Facey, who was at The Hawthorns in the 2003-4 season. It is believed that none of the footballers is currently linked to a professional club. The six are being held by police in the Midlands.
Sting
The investigation relates to three clubs in the Football Conference. It follows a newspaper sting in which, it was claimed, undercover reporters discussed the possibility of influencing the scores and outcomes of games for as little as £50,000.
In undercover filming, the alleged fixer says: "So you tell me how many goals? Give me at least five. OK, I do need five. Either 3-2, 4-0, 4-1, I will say I do it for that.
"What the players want . . . they want the money. So for 90 minutes I pay them £7,000 for two hours . . . definitely they take."
It was reported the alleged fixer backed up his claims by correctly forecasting the outcome of three matches by one team. He also suggested that a player being given a booking early in the game was a sign that the result of the match was likely to be manipulated.
The fixer, from Singapore, claimed that gamblers could make hundreds of thousands of pounds using insider information to place bets with Asian companies.
He claimed to be an associate of Wilson Raj Perumal, who has been accused of fixing matches around the world, and has convictions for forgery, assault and burglary.
It is the first time in decades that police have amassed sufficient evidence to hold those suspected of trying to fix a match in Britain.
A spokesman for the National Crime Agency said: "Six men have been arrested across the country as part of an NCA investigation into alleged football match fixing. The focus of the operation is a suspected international illegal betting syndicate.
"The NCA is working closely with the Gambling Commission and the Football Association. This is an active investigation and we are unable to provide further detail at this time."
Striker Facey, then 23, was at Albion when the club won Premier League promotion. He went to Hull on a free transfer in 2004. He finished as a professional at Hereford in 2012.
In a statement, Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey said the league had not yet been contacted by the police.
"We understand from media reports that there is an ongoing Police investigation into alleged match fixing in domestic football," the statement said. "To date, we have had no contact from the Police regarding this matter."
