\u201cSpot betting\u201d describes speculation on the minutiae of a game, rather than the outright result \u2014 the number of cards or corners, for example. Some say this encourages corruption, or spot-fixing, because it makes it easier for individual athletes to manipulate small aspects of a game in a way that could fly under the radar.<\/p>\n
Spot-fixing in elite soccer is extremely rare, largely because stratospheric wages remove financial incentive. In the Premier League, the average salary is more than $3 million a year.<\/p>\n
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But the FA Cup Third Round is one of those rare occasions when lower league clubs get to play with the big boys. Oxford United plays in League One, in the third tier of English soccer.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nIn League One, senior players earn between \u00a31,700 (US$2,000) and \u00a35,000 (US$6,000) per week, while backup and squad players can earn as low as \u00a3300 (US$365) per week. That\u2019s about half the average salary in the UK.<\/p>\n
Brown was a squad player for Cardiff City before signing for Oxford in the summer. He has also played for the Northern Ireland international team.<\/p>\n
Dubious Dossier<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u00a0<\/em>The Daily Mail<\/em>, which broke the story, claims to have compiled a \u201cdossier of evidence\u201d on the matter. The existence of the FA investigation was later confirmed by trustworthy news sources, including the BBC and Reuters.<\/p>\nThe DM<\/em> says its information includes \u201calleged phone messages\u201d sent prior to the match that claim, \u201cBrown would be booked in a betting scam.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cOne message is understood to show a betting slip with around \u00a3200 staked on Brown being yellow-carded at odds of 8-1,\u201d the DM <\/em>reported. The word \u201cunderstood\u201d suggests the British tabloid has not seen the documents in its \u201cdossier\u201d first-hand.<\/p>\nNevertheless, prior to Brown\u2019s yellow card for a foul on Eddie Nketiah, there were some moments when he was charging around like a man on a mission to get booked.<\/p>\n
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In the 25th minute, he deliberately tried to pull back the shirt of Arsenal\u2019s Bukayo Saka as the winger sprinted past him, notes the DM<\/em>. He also appeared to elbow right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu during an aerial challenge for the ball.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe evidence is purely circumstantial, and the investigation will be focused on the betting markets rather than the player\u2019s behavior on the pitch, which was not overtly suspicious.<\/p>\n
Oxford needed aggression, especially from their center-backs, if they were to stand a chance against the EPL leaders, a team 58 spots above them in the pecking order.<\/p>\n
Oxford United said in a statement Wednesday that it was cooperating with the investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
England\u2019s Football Association (FA) has launched an investigation into suspicious betting patterns that occurred around Monday\u2019s FA Cup Third Round match between EPL league leaders Arsenal and Oxford United. Specifically, the probe is focused on a yellow card that was picked up by Oxford defender Ciaron Brown, 24, in the 59th minute of the game, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":252952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82966,1074],"tags":[83230,84494,84496,84495],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Arsenal Game Probed by FA for Spot-Fixing After Sketchy Betting Patterns<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n