Gardaí investigating an alleged effort to bribe a League of Ireland player so he would be sent off, as part of an attempted betting fix, have arrested a man for questioning.
The suspect was detained in Galway, though evidence in the case was discovered earlier this year at a property in Dublin.
The incident was brought to the attention of the Garda after the player, who was approached about being deliberately sent off in a game, used an anti-corruption reporting mechanism within Irish soccer.
The player in question was offered tens of thousands of euros, understood to be over €30,000, if he agreed to deliberately incur a red card in an early season game this year. Gardaí believe if he had agreed, large bets would have been placed on his being sent off in that match.
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However, when the player was approached on the street in February to sign a jersey, and the offer quickly put to him, he immediately returned the jersey, walked away and reported the matter.
The report was passed to the Garda and a criminal investigation begun immediately. News of the inquiry first emerged publicly shortly after the inquiry began and a suspect was identified.
Detectives from the Anti-Bribery and Corruption Unit, which is within the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, carried out searches in Dublin in February and seized evidence, including mobile phones. The devices have since been analysed, leading to the arrest of the suspect in the west of Ireland this week.
Gardaí confirmed the suspect, and man in his 30s, was arrested for questioning on Monday “as part of an ongoing investigation into the attempted bribery of a professional League of Ireland football player during the current season”.
He was held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, and the findings of the inquiry to date were put to him before he was released without charge.
The evidence collected over the last seven months will be included in a criminal file, along with the man’s responses during the Garda interviews, and will be sent to the DPP for a decision on whether criminal charges should be pursued.
“The Anti-Bribery and Corruption Unit remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of sport in Ireland and continues to work closely with all relevant stakeholders,” the Garda said in a statement.
It added “anyone with information regarding match-fixing or sports corruption” could report it on the Bribery and Corruption Confidential Reporting line at 1800 40 60 80.
Garda sources said the player who was approached on the street and the bribe put to him had acted in an exemplary manner.
He was praised for his actions by the Football Association of Ireland as well as the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland and Fifa when news of the incident first emerged in the media in late February and early March.
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