The Professional Footballers’ Association has had to deal with one incident after another of gambling allegations, none more embarrassing than the one facing chief executive Gordon Taylor.
So in an attempt to restore the “integrity of the union”, the PFA is taking steps to introduce a gambling blanket ban for all of its employees on football matches.
Former chairman Clarke Carlisle told Sportsmail that the PFA’s decision to introduce the ban came after the association came had to deal with numerous gambling incidents among its constituents. Carlisle, who retired from his post as PFA chairman a few months ago, explained that it was in the best interest of the union and all of its employees to implement the ban, saying that it was a step need to ensure that nobody would question the integrity of the PFA.
Carlisle also said that he remains confident that Taylor is still more than capable of being the union’s chief executive. “I had a meeting with Gordon and our lawyers alongside our financial director to ensure that there no rules were broken for him as a union chief executive, which there weren’t,” he said.
The ban will cover all employees of the association itself, but not necessarily the players, which Carlisle explained, will still have to “conform to Premier League, UEFA and FIFA rules”.
“We’re talking about as an organization,” he adds. “When you work for the PFA you do have access to every member.”
This is a right step for the PFA, even if Carlisle acknowledged that implementation of the ban will still be difficult. The important thing, at least for the hierarchy in the PFA, is to draw a line on its stance on employees’ gambling. Even if they’re not actively participating in any football matches and, thus, don’t have any direct effect on the results of these matches, it’s important to take this step to ensure that nobody has any reason to question its integrity anymore.
