Whether we like it or not, football has long since enjoyed a close association with gambling. Players and fans alike love a regular punt, and of course there’s nothing much wrong with that, provided it’s all done sensibly and within the rules.
So, betting is embedded within the fabric of football. Recently, however, we’ve had cause to reflect on this relationship, and it’s perhaps not such a straightforward one after all. Firstly, we’ve had reports surrounding Sky Sports and Sky Bet, with many openly questioning that particular relationship.
A view was expressed within the back pages of many newspapers to the effect that a story would appear on the Sports Channel – usually concerning a possible transfer move of a high-profile player – and, naturally enough, punters flocked to the bookies to place their bets on the story coming to fruition in due course.
Then, the story dies without trace as quickly as it surfaced, and the punters have lost their loot.
Of course, allegations of duplicity between Sky Sports and Sky Bet have been strenuously denied by those organisations. One might expect as much, and to be fair there’s not been a shred of compelling evidence of wrongdoing presented.
After all, rumours abound in respect of possible transfer moves, most of this the result of agents keen to manufacture a move for their clients, or lazy sports journalists with time on their hands and column inches to fill.
However, you can understand the unease here. Sky Bet can claim to be whiter than white in this matter, but the fact remains that they are the only bookmakers with a sister company that has such a degree of influence within football spheres.
Whether this impacts upon punters’ passion for betting remains to be seen, although many might pause for thought before committing their hard-earned cash on the back of a sensational headline in future.
And now, in Scotland, we’ve had the rather embarrassing spectacle of Rangers midfielder Ian Black being fined and banned for admitting to betting on a number of football matches. Some of which involved his own club at the time, including current employers Rangers.
What has been curious about this particular episode isn’t so much that Black has been found to be betting, but rather the response from many within the game, including – astonishingly - his own manager.
No player is allowed to bet on the outcome of a match, a fact that must surely be widely known. But, rather than condemn Black for his stupidity, many of his peers have called for clarification on the rules surrounding betting.
This suggests that they too are not exactly immune to a flutter, and it’s not too great a leap of faith to assume that players are deliberately obstructing what may be a more serious problem than we thought.
As for clarification of the rules – it’s simple really. You can’t do it. Perhaps that isn’t clear enough for some. Of course, we would expect Ally McCoist, Black’s current manager, to seek to defend his player to a point. However, McCoist’s insistence that he has no problem with the player’s actions here – Black admitted to betting against his own team in three matches in which he participated – is blasé to the point of downright irresponsibility.
It’s simply unacceptable to shrug this off as if to say these things happen, and we should get on with it. Not that the authorities have fared much better in this sorry spectacle, it must be said.
For his misdemeanour, Black was fined, and banned for three matches. Three matches! This, typically, is the length of sanction a player can expect to receive for violent conduct, and the SFA deems this to be on a par with betting directly against your own team in a competitive match.
Black’s past tendency to court trouble at every turn has meant the player is unlikely to feature prominently as a role model anywhere, but this is not the matter at hand here. Like it or not, Black is a well-known footballer at a high profile club, and his actions bring shame upon the game north of the border.
The failure of certain figures to condemn him outright – far less virtually condone his actions - shames them further still.