Former FA executive blasts gambling links with football

A former executive from the FA in England said that football needs to distance itself from gambling sponsorship.

UK.- Mark Palios, a former chef executive of the Football Association (FA) of England, said that football needs some distance from gambling sponsorship, which he believes have gone too far as they’re the main contributor in the territory.

Palios told BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 that the link between betting and football has gone “too far” and that the team he chairs, Tranmere Rovers FC, recently received a sponsorship offer but they declined it.

The English Football League says that the sport and the gambling industry worked together responsibly: “The EFL itself continues to have a successful relationship with Sky Bet who, as a responsible, properly regulated bookmaker, recognise the importance of having the right safeguards in place,” explained a spokesman.

The Premier League doesn’t have a gambling partner and said that sponsorship deals are up to individual clubs. Around 60% of clubs in England currently have gambling sponsorship deals in place.

“We can’t change the bigger picture in terms of the football industry being involved to the extent it is but from a personal perspective that’s what we do. Football has to wean itself off the position it is in at the moment – and that’s the best verb I can use,” said Palios.