Harry Redknapp: Former Tottenham, QPR and West Ham boss admits his players gambled on own result
One of them allegedly told a football agent to “remortgage your house” because the odds were so good
FOOTIE boss Harry Redknapp found out his players were illegally betting on their own game but did nothing about it, it was claimed last night.
He was filmed by undercover reporters discussing a match on which “the lads” had “all had a spread bet” on the score.
His players backed themselves to win, with one allegedly telling an agent to “remortgage your house” because the odds were so good.
The agent later claimed that the opposing team’s players also bet. Bookies had offered big odds on Redknapp’s side as he was expected to field a weakened team. But he put out a strong team which won easily.
FA rules forbid players from betting on their games. Managers should report any such misconduct as soon as they find out.
Lawyers for Redknapp, 69, said he was unaware of his players betting on the game at the time.
Told by the Daily Telegraph it would have been against FA rules, he said: “Oh would it? OK. But not at that time I don’t think it was, was it? They weren’t betting on the other team, they were having a bet on their own team.”
It is not known which players or club were involved. Redknapp managed a host of clubs including West Ham, Southampton and Tottenham.
There is no suggestion of any criminality on his part.
Redknapp met with undercover posing as representatives of a Far East firm that wanted to break into English football’s billion-pound transfer market.
Also present was football agents Dax Price and Pino Pagliara, who believed they were going to be employed as consultants to the fictitious company.
Mr Price said: “(Player A from Redknapp’s team) phoned me and said remortgage your house ’cause the odds were mental, they were 5/2 at the time.”
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Mr Price, who claimed one player had £20,000 on the match, added that one of the opposition team’s players who was not in the squad that day was in contact with him from the stands, where he was watching the game.
He said: “All my family lumped on, we lumped on, I phoned him after 15 minutes because you had put, you put a good, you put a great side out as well, you put the best side out, and, um, I spoke to (opposition player), he was sitting in the stand, and he went, ‘(Redknapp’s side) ain’t touched the ball yet, first 15 minutes’, and the game ended up (with Redknapp’s side winning).”
Redknapp replied: “They battered us. They murdered us early on.”
He added: “At half time I took (a player) off and put, erm, (another player on) and they’re all looking at me all the lads ’cause I didn’t know they’d had a bet, ’cause they was all choked, they’d all had a spread bet and everything.”
He also discussed the issue of third-party ownership of players which is banned by the FA and Fifa - the issue which led to Sam Allardyce quitting as England boss when suggested rules could be circumvented.
Harry said he would be interested in “getting involved” if a Far East firm invested in players saying “I put my money where my mouth is”.
So far Sam Allardyce has been ousted as England manager for divulging to businessmen how to get around the FA rules on transfers and Barnsley coach Tommy Wright was sacked over transfer bung allegations.
Elsewhere, QPR are investigating their Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink after he agreed to be paid £55,000 to fly to Singapore and make a speech to investors in a fictitious Far East Firm, while Leeds owner Massimo Cellino was filmed suggesting a firm should become a shareholder in his club in return for a portion of his players’ sell-on fees.
And it is also claimed Southampton assistant manager Eric Black gave the Daily Telegraph's undercover investigators advice on how to bribe officials at other clubs.
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