General Secretary at the PFAI Stephen McGuinness on the threat of gambling addiction and match-fixing in Irish football.
Paul Fennessy THERE IS significant evidence to suggest the issue of gambling in football is more pervasive than ever.
“I think the advertising of gambling is a problem,” McGuinness tells The 42. “I think it should be banned from sport in general. I don’t think you should be allowed to have sponsors on the front of your shirt. Irish football is not immune from this problem either. Northern Ireland international Kyle Lafferty has been open about his gambling issues. And last September, Ireland U21 international Dylan Duffy was fined by the FA after admitting to the charge of alleged breaches of anti-betting rules.
“The FT estimates that the sponsorship deals of the eight Premier League clubs sponsored by a betting brand are valued at around £60m of annual revenue which the clubs would need to replace by the beginning of the 2026//27 season.” “I don’t think sport helps itself by allowing betting companies to be part of it, to be part of the sponsorship, and we’re lucky in our league that it’s not as bad as in the UK.
“I’ve seen how it’s destroyed some of our members over the years. Some of our most decorated players have ended up being bankrupt and broke on the back of having a gambling addiction.” “It used to be, you just couldn’t bet on your league,” he explains. “Now you can’t bet on football worldwide.“The sanctions for that are heavy and can ruin their careers.”
Issue League Of Ireland LOI Match-Fixing PFAI Soccer Stephen Mcguinness
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Three from Shamrock Rovers and Derry, two from Shels in PFAI Team of YearThe latest sports news from The42.ie in 60 seconds
Read more »
Stephen Bradley on how close Shamrock Rovers are to progress from league phaseShamrock Rovers’ Europa Conference League win over TNS has moved them on to seven points from their first three games.
Read more »
DWTS pros Kylee and Stephen Vincent welcome first childCongratulations are in order for Dancing with the Stars professionals Kylee and Stephen Vincent as they welcomed their first child!
Read more »
Stephen Collins: Outgoing Coalition has serious amount of work to do to persuade votersGoverning parties need to convince electorate that they can deal with persistent problems such as housing and infrastructure
Read more »
Why Jack O'Connor's Kerry GAA will struggle to replace Stephen O'BrienPlayers like the Kenmare flyer, who retires from Kerry duty at 33 with two All-Ireland titles, don't come around all that often.
Read more »
Stephen Bradley makes Richie Towell decision following disciplinary issueShamrock Rovers are back in Europa Conference League action on Thursday
Read more »