Northern Ireland

Inter-county player tells of shame at betting against own team

Dessie Farrell, chief executive of the Gaelic Players Association, has expressed concern about a rise in gambling addiction. Picture by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Dessie Farrell, chief executive of the Gaelic Players Association, has expressed concern about a rise in gambling addiction. Picture by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile Dessie Farrell, chief executive of the Gaelic Players Association, has expressed concern about a rise in gambling addiction. Picture by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

AN inter-county footballer has told of the shame he feels after betting against his own team while in the grip of a gambling addiction.

The player, who has not revealed his identity, claims gambling is "rampant" within the GAA.

"I gambled on a National League game. I bet against our team and it came in. It was a shameful thing to do," he told RTE.

"At the time I was happy. I wasn't playing, I was a substitute, so I had no real bearing on the game as it turned out.

"But looking back there's people with a long-standing history in the county and people pumping in so much energy and supporters travelling and people doing a lot of fundraising.

"For me to go and target a game like that to bet on, against our own team, it was the height of disrespect."

In 2014 the GAA and Gaelic Players Association (GPA) announced guidelines on gambling for club and inter-county players and the wider GAA community.

GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell described the "rise in gambling addiction and the potential for match-fixing or spot-fixing" as "two major areas of concern".

In 2007, Armagh All-Ireland winner Oisin McConville became the first high-profile player to admit to a gambling addiction.

Last month Antrim GAA officials said they would meet members of the county's senior hurling team following allegations that some players placed bets on their own team to lose.

Rumours surfaced after a defeat to London in March, although bookmakers did not report unusual betting patterns and the county board said "nothing of any substance" had been produced in evidence.