FA Issues 10-Year Ban Over Spot-Fixing
The FA has imposed a ten-year ban on Stratford Town defender Kynan Isaac. The 31-year-old stands accused of spot-fixing and aiding illegal bets during an FA Cup tie last November. His ban is one of the longest ever issued by the FA, and effectively ends his career on the pitch.
An investigation carried by the FA found that the defender had enabled almost 350 illegal bets on matches in which he played over five years. ©Markus Spiske/Pexels
Yellow Card Incident
Kynan Isaac has been banned for ten years over the part he played in spot-fixing during an FA Cup tie. Isaac was part of the Southern League club’s squad when the fateful match took place on November 7th, 2021. Stratford succumbed to Shrewsbury Town in a 1-5 home defeat.
However, bookmakers were amongst the first to realize that something had gone wrong, when alerts to suspicious betting activities were triggered. They informed the FA when large numbers of bets were placed on Isaac being booked, an incident that occurred in the 83rd minute of the match.
That incident saw Isaac given a yellow card for a high tackle. It is unusual for bookmakers to offer markets on individual players being carded for Southern Premier League games. However, betting was offered on the possibility as the FA Cup match was broadcast live on ITV. Isaac took advantage of the opportunity in a scheme with friends to beat the bookies.
An investigation carried out by the FA’s integrity unit later uncovered further evidence of the defender’s involvement in illegal betting activity. Isaac was handed a further eighteen-month ban after he was found guilty of placing or enabling nearly 350 bets on matches over a five-year period.
Isaac joined Stratford Town FC in 2018, following spells at Reading, Luton Town, Banbury United and Oxford City. The afore-mentioned bets were placed while Isaac played for a number of these clubs. The FA published details of the charge, elaborating on the incident which saw Isaac intentionally seek to be cautioned by the match referee.
Failed to Cooperate With FA
According to the FA’s report, Isaac pleaded not guilty to the charges and failed to cooperate with the investigation. A panel chaired by Graeme McPherson KC heard that Isaac was also charged with failing to provided telephone billing records or details of his internet service.
Isaac did not provide the FA with any evidence, nor did he engage with the FA or the charges. After a video of his yellow-carded tackle was reviewed, referee Ben Toner concluded that he should have been issued a red card. The panel determined that all three charges were proved, and that the 12-month suspension of failing to provide phone records should follow the ten-year ban.
As a result of Isaac’s lack of cooperation, the player has found himself on the receiving end of the FA’s longest ever ban for breaching rules on betting. He is banned from all football activity until April 2034. Isaac has since maintained his innocence to the press, but the ban has effectively ended his on-pitch career. It is not yet known whether Isaac will appeal the ban.
Such a ban has not been seen since the match-fixing scandal of 1964, which saw ten players jailed and given life bans. Scottish footballer Jimmy Gauld, who orchestrated the scheme, was given the longest sentence of four years in prison. He had made £3275 from betting on football matches, and a further £7420 after selling his confession to the Sunday People. In all, 33 players were prosecuted.
Amongst the FA’s toughest bans are those that have been handed out over illegal drug use. In 2005, Torquay’s Olafur Gottskalksson was banned indefinitely after failing a drugs test. In 2018, Southport’s Mike Phenix was banned for four years over drug offences, and in the same year Peterbrough United’s Josh Yorwerth was also banned for four years after missing a drug test and taking cocaine.
Gambling Reforms Delayed
Isaac is the latest player to fall foul of FA rules on spot-fixing and illegal betting, but it is an issue that has become increasingly prominent over the last ten years. In 2013, FIFA’s former Head of Security Chris Eaton described match-fixing in association football as a crisis. That sentiment was echoed by former UEFA president Michel Platini, who said that if it is allowed to continue “football is dead”.
Measures have since been taken to tackle the problem, including an anti-match-fixing plan from FIFA and steps by the Council of Europe. However, there are now wider concerns over the prevalence of betting in professional football. In particular, calls are growing for a ban on betting firms sponsoring the shirts of Premier League football clubs, over fears that it could exacerbate problem gambling.
Gambling reforms including restrictions on sponsorships were expected in a white paper due to be published by the government following its review of the 2005 Gambling Act. The white paper has already faced a series of delays, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Lottery License Competition, a cabinet reshuffle and the resignation of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this year.
A fifth delay now seems inevitable, following the shock resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss after only 45 days in office. Truss, who is now the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British History, has promised that Conservative ministers will choose a new leader within a week.
Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP have called for a general election to be called immediately. Labour leader Keir Starmer said that the Tories no longer have a mandate to govern. However, if a new Conservative Prime Minister is able to command a majority in the House of Commons, the party has the constitutional right to serve until the next general election is legally required to be called.
