Players liking a bet doesn’t make them corrupt

It’s impossible to overstate how much the gambling industry has changed since I was a player.

Back then if you wanted a bet and quite a few of my team-mates did you had to search out a few draws.

Later, things relaxed a little and you could take a punt on three away wins or five homes.

Put your X and draw your line and then nip round to the local bookie to stick it on. Better yet, get a pal or a relative to do it for you.

Now, footballers can wager fortunes on a staggering variety of bets.

Number of corners, yellow cards, time of first goal anything, really, you could think of.

And they can do so via their smart phone, lap-top computer or even television set.

As easy as changing the channel.

The only problem, in fact, is that it is against the rules.

The SFA have charged Ian Black with 160 counts of gambling on matches.

Rangers manager Ally McCoist responded by coming up with a dossier of football people who enjoy “an honest bet” and calling for a summit on the issue.

I must say I agree with him.

If a player who is on a wage of thousands of pounds a week places a small accumulator of £5 or £10 on a sequence of results, then it is reasonable to assume there is nothing untoward about it.

But, of course, people shouldn’t back against their own teams.

The gambling industry spends huge sums of money every year on advertising. They would not do so if they did not think it was effective.

And why wouldn’t players get won over by the bookies’ pitches?

Many have significant amounts of disposable income, free time and insider knowledge about the game.

Betting on football has long been a part of Scottish culture.

Kids will have grown up hearing their fathers and grandfathers speaking about putting a line on.

At the same time, we must appreciate where the authorities are coming from.

UEFA and FIFA view match fixing as a serious threat to the game. They believe that player gambling is the root by which syndicates can get the inside connection which potentially allows them to manipulate results for their own gain.

It is a scenario that is potentially ruinous for football.

As we have seen in the Far East, if the public believes games are fixed, they simply won’t go and watch them.

Surely it can’t be beyond us to differentiate between syndicates and fun gamblers?

I am told bookmakers nowadays are able to spot suspicious betting patterns a mile off.

And they are under orders to report them whenever they spot them.

What is needed is common sense.

Players must realise that fans won’t accept players betting against their own teams. And those in charge of the game must realise just because a footballer likes a bet doesn’t make them corrupt.