State clubs called on Football Federation Australia to ban gambling

The National Premier League NSW clubs urged the Football Federation Australia to ban betting on state league games, as they fear match-fixing is taking place in the semi-professional competition.

Australia.- The National Premier League NSW clubs have called on the Football Federation Australia to ban gambling on state league games. They allege match-fixing is taking place in the semi-professional competition.

Yesterday, the FFA sanctioned a player in Tasmania for betting on games involving his own club and since then, at least one NSW team has publicly denounced widespread misconduct within the competition, with players or staff betting, match-fixing, spot-fixing or providing insider information.

Unfortunately, the temptation of using insider information to capitalise on odds and potentially influence results is too much to resist for state league players earning part-time salaries. At this point several clubs believe the competition could fall victim to corruption.

“Yes, it is correct that APIA Leichhardt has lodged a grievance with Football NSW citing significant concerns and allegations in regards to betting on NPL1 matches,” said Tony Raciti, APIA Leichhardt president. “It is not in the interest of the clubs and the integrity of the competition to allow betting on NPL matches and by ceasing betting on NPL matches it eliminates the innuendo and allegations. These concerns were brought to my attention and I brought these concerns to the governing body.”

So far, the FFA declined to comment on the issue and a spokesman declared the Federation has not received a formal complaint from Football NSW. Currently, the FFA has gambling deals in place with Australian betting agencies that allow bets on semi-professional state leagues and the FFA Cup, which is mostly comprised of amateur or semi-professional clubs.