An unnamed Arsenal player’s yellow card in a Premier League fixture is to be investigated by the Football Association after suspicious betting patterns were identified according to a report from Joey D’Urso and James McNicholas of The Athletic.
Unnamed Arsenal Player’s Yellow Card to Be Investigated
Betting Patterns
The yellow card was received by an unnamed Arsenal player during a Premier League match this season and now suspicious betting patterns have been detected, leading to the FA beginning an investigation into the matter.
The Athletic have contacted the FA who said: “The FA is aware of the matter in question and is looking into it.”
Bookmakers Noticed Unusual Patterns
It is believed that it was a bookmaker who spotted the suspicious betting patterns as they saw an unusually large amount of money being placed on the specific player receiving a yellow card during the fixture. Other gambling experts have also told The Athletic that the betting on the showing of a yellow card was highly unusual although betting on such incidents is not in itself abnormal and is known as ‘spot betting’.
Spot betting takes place when an individual occurrence in a game is bet upon such as the minute of a yellow card but when large amounts of money are placed at once it raises suspicions as to whether there are other forces coming into effect such as players being involved in betting rings to win large amounts of money.
Not New but Rare
Betting fraud is not new but it is rare in the Premier League mainly due to the significant salaries that players receive. One of the last known occurrences happened in 2018 when Lincoln City defender Bradley Wood was banned for six years after he got himself booked on purpose whilst betting on this occurrence and this latest development will cause significant concern throughout the English top flight.
The Athletic have stated that they do know the identity of the player involved but have agreed to not reveal that name whilst the investigation is allowed to take place.
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