SportGibraltar

Max Clifford denies any wrong doing by accused Premiership managers

A leading betting firm has denied that Barclays Premiership managers have broken FA rules by gambling on competitions they are involved in.

A former employee of Victor Chandler has alleged that some managers have bet huge sums with the company on top-flight matches. A source at the company confirmed to The Times that a top Premiership manager wagered £12 million in sports bets in one year, making up to 25 bets by phone a day.

“The figures that are being bandied about are 100 per cent correct,” the source at the Gibraltar-based bookmaker said. “One Premiership manager bet £12 million in a year and his account is £415,000 down at the moment.” The source also claimed that another top-flight manager had a predilection for bets almost as big as his Premiership colleague.

But Max Clifford, the PR guru who is representing Victor Chandler, insisted yesterday that the managers and players who held accounts with the firm were doing nothing wrong. The Times understood that three Premiership managers and two international Premiership players had wagered in the region of £20 million in one year.

“I want to stress that they were not betting on football matches. It was mostly horse racing as far as I am aware,” Clifford said. “The FA has nothing to be worried about or interested in. The managers and players have done nothing wrong and they have not compromised their positions as they have not been betting on their own matches. Not in a million years would these people bet on football.

“If somebody wants to bet millions of pounds of their own money then that should be their own business.

“I am confident that the names will never come out. I have 40 years of experience in this industry and I cannot see any justification for their names being revealed — they have not broken any rules and have not done anything wrong.”

An FA spokesman said: “We will investigate these reports to see if there has been any breach of our regulations and we would welcome any information that would help our inquiries.”

The FA’s rules prevent players and managers betting on any competition in which they participate, effectively outlawing gambling on any type of league or cup football. Any infringements would normally be dealt with by fines.

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