The Guardian recently reported on the bizarre scenario of football club owners in the UK being allowed to place bets on football matches… while their employees are banned from doing likewise. This raises a ton of questions, writes Jon Bruford. Like how? Why? And who knew?
The story, which emerged in late September, has seen the governing body (the Football Association, or FA) accused of double standards after hanging Brentford player and diagnosed gambling addict, Ivan Toney, out to dry. This followed breaches of the player code of conduct.
Ironically, Matthew Benham, owner of Brentford FC, was named as one of the gamblers. The story states: “Benham is one of a select few multimillionaire club owners who enjoy an opaque arrangement with the FA that allows them to be involved in betting. The Guardian has seen evidence that appears to show that Benham has made money from bets on football placed in his own name, via a UK-based gambling syndicate called MSPP Admin. Benham said he abides ..