Former Portsmouth, Blackburn Players Arrested as Part of Match Fixing Probe
Second division team Blackburn Rovers confirmed Monday that striker D.J. Campbell had been taken into custody by police as part of an undercover investigation into claims that the players accepted bribes to ensure certain outcomes during a match -- known as spot-fixing -- for betting purposes, CNN reported.
In all, six players have been taken into custody as part of the ongoing investigation into match fixing attempts of a championship game.
"Following reports in today's national media, Blackburn Rovers can confirm that striker D.J. Campbell has been arrested," Blackburn, which has won the English title three times, said in a statement.
"The club will be making no further comment on what is now an ongoing legal matter."
His time in the top flight was limited as Birmingham was relegated that season, but he helped the club win promotion again before being sold to second division Leicester and then returning to the EPL with Blackpool, CNN also noted.
The arrests come after the Sun Newspaper said an undercover reporter met one player who claimed another agreed to deliberately earn a booking in a recent match in the second-tier of English soccer in return for a $41,000 payout. That player has been identified as former Portsmouth and Nigeria defender Sam Sodje, also claimed he could fix Premier League games and added he was capable of rigging matches at next year's World Cup.
Sodje also told the reporter that he was once intentionally sent off for a fee of about $95,000.
"We treat any allegations of criminal activity in our competitions with the utmost seriousness," Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey said. "Given that there is an ongoing police investigation into this matter, we cannot comment further at this time. Although, we would encourage anyone with any evidence to report it to the police. We will be giving our full assistance to the police during their investigation."
Two players from the sixth tier of English soccer were charged this week with conspiring to fix matches. Michael Boateng and Hakeem Adelakun, who both play for Conference South team Whitehawk FC, were charged with conspiracy to defraud and are scheduled to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Gambling911.com has been reporting extensively on what is believed to be the biggest match fixing investigation of its kind with more arrests likely.
- Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com
