Former English Premier League player turned agent Delroy Facey was charged with conspiracy to bribe football players by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA). The 34-year-old ex-Bolton Wanderers striker was one of the six men who were arrested last November after an investigation led by the NCA revealed his connection with Singaporean match fixer Chann Sankaran.
Sankaran, together with Krishna Graneshan and another former football player Michael Boateng were found guilty of match fixing. Sankaran and Ganeshan were each sentenced to five years in jail while Boateng received a 16-month spell behind bars.
As for Facey, an NCA spokesman said that his charges are also related to an ongoing match fixing investigation. “The Crown Prosecution Service’s Organized Crime Division authorized the charges on the basis that there is a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is in the public interest,” the spokesman said.
Pacey appeared before magistrates in Cannock, Staffs in England to address the accusations against him, which includes plotting with Moses Swaibu, a lower echelon football player, to convince players to fix matches and “improperly perform their function” as professional football players. He was not required to enter a plea and was eventually released on bail with a scheduled appearance set at the Birmingham Crown Court later this month.
Over in New Zealand, another fixing scandal is erupting with revelations that jockey David Walker intentionally rode his horses to lose in a handful of horse racing events in the country. The jockey has been charged with betting against his own horse during a head-to-head race last August 16.
Investigators from New Zealand’s Racing Integrity Unit revealed that Walker has had a history of intentionally not riding his own horse out, citing a previous incident last July 31 of Walker doing the same thing. The jockey admitted taking bets in those races but denied pulling up during the race to ensure that the bets stood.
Race stewards at the August 16 event opened an inquiry into the race after suspicions arose of Walker’s performance during the race. A hearing has been set for September 18 and should Walker be found guilty of race fixing, he could receive a lifetime ban from horse racing competitions.
