The Irish Football Association is seeking to ban all professional players and club officials from betting on football worldwide.
As it stands, Irish League players and officials aren’t allowed to bet on domestic matches but they are allowed to use sports betting apps to wager on fixtures outside of Northern Ireland.
IFA To Join English & Scottish FA In Completely Banning Football Betting
The IFA – the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland – wants to join the English and Scottish FAs in completely banning football betting anywhere in the world.
The Republic of Ireland’s governing body, the FAI, also has a complete ban while the FAW (Football Association of Wales) has a ban just on any football in Wales.
The IFA will present a proposal at their upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) – scheduled for June 16 in Limavady, Co. Derry – to introduce a blanket ban on football betting for professional players and club officials.
There are currently three Irish Premiership teams who are sponsored by online casinos – Glentoran (McLean Bookmakers), Cliftonville (Sean Graham) and Crusaders (BoyleSports).
The proposal argues that an Irish League player from the Republic of Ireland could place bets on football in the Republic of Ireland, an area where they have increased knowledge.
They believe that heightens the risks around match manipulation but the proposal hasn’t been universally welcomed by all within the IFA.
One official told the Belfast Telegraph: “Just because other Associations have adopted it doesn’t mean the IFA need to. It’s a step too far.”
IFA Bids To Wipe The Game Clean Of Betting Scandals Following Years Of Turmoil
There have been multiple scandals to throw the Irish game into disrepute over the years. In October 2019, Glentoran midfielder John Herron was banned for two games for placing bets on three matches within Northern Ireland.
Earlier that year in March, Institute’s Ronan Doherty was handed an eight-week suspension for betting on his own team to lose against Ballymena. Doherty won €140 from the bet and was ordered to donate his winnings to charity.
In April 2013, three Limavady United players were given lengthy bans after betting on their own Championship games. One of the top UK online casinos, Paddy Power, reported irregular betting activity on a match Limavady lost 2-0 to Dergview.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
