If it's a new month then it must be time for a new betting "scandal" in football. Step forward Sir Alex Ferguson, Patrice Evra and Louis Saha, who now find themselves the subject of an FA investigation over bets they are said to have made with each other over the result of two European Championship qualifying matches between Scotland and France. Details of the bets were revealed in an interview given by Darren Fletcher to Zoo magazine. "He [Ferguson] was happy when Scotland beat France. He won a bit of money because he was making bets with all the French lads. They were looking at him like he was a bit crazy, so they took any bet," the Scotland international said. "But he had the last laugh 'cos we managed to beat them twice."
Poor Fletcher, he probably thought he was being cute and revelatory. He won't make the same mistake again, not after yesterday's po-faced announcement from the FA to the effect that it "will take action against any participants in our leagues found to be in breach of our regulations, if it is proved they bet on a match that they were involved in or could potentially influence". It is difficult to imagine a more frivolous use of the FA's time and resources than this so-called investigation of Ferguson and co, although it is not difficult to work out why the FA would make such a song and dance; it is easy and it is eye-catching. A far more worthwhile job would be to examine the corrosive effects on the game wrought by the boom in gambling on the betting exchanges. But that would require effort, ingenuity and courage - attributes that are in short supply amongst those charged with protecting the game's integrity.
From The Guardian online sport section.
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