Report: FA to investigate suspicious betting activity in Arsenal FA Cup tie
English football’s governing body opens investigation into alleged spot-fixing concerning the booking of Oxford defender Ciaron Brown
The Football Association (FA) has reportedly launched an investigation into potential match-fixing during Monday night’s FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Oxford United.
First reported by The Daily Mail, the governing body received evidence after the final whistle on Monday night relating to the yellow card awarded to Oxford defender Ciaron Brown in the 59th minute.
The evidence, which includes phone messages before kick-off, claims the defender would be booked in the game and has allegedly cost one bookmaker £1,600. One message showed a betting slip with a £200 bet on the defender being cautioned at odds of 8/1.
When Brown was booked in the 59th minute for a tackle on Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka, eyewitnesses claimed they saw several Gunners fans celebrating the booking, with some bragging they had won hundreds of pounds on the incident.
It is unknown how many bets were placed on Brown being booked or the extent of other bookmakers’ liabilities, but the FA is seemingly not taking the matter lightly.
This is the second time the FA has investigated a booking related to an Arsenal fixture. In June 2022, midfielder Granit Xhaka was investigated by the FA and the National Crime Agency for a yellow card he received against Leeds United in December 2021.
Xhaka was booked for time wasting in the last moments of the Premier League game in which Arsenal ran out 4-1 winners. At the time of writing, Xhaka has not been charged with any offences relating to the incident.
The last time a football match-fixing case was proven in the UK was back in 2018 when Lincoln City defender Bradley Wood was banned for six years after he was found to have deliberately gotten himself booked twice during the Imps’ run to the FA Cup quarter-finals the previous season.
The FA established that seven people, including two of Wood’s close friends, had bet on him to be cautioned.
The FA is also investigating Brentford striker Ivan Toney for 262 alleged breaches of betting rules.