Football
ESPN staff 7y

Harry Redknapp filmed saying his players once bet on their own game

Harry Redknapp has told undercover reporters of a game during his career as a manager when players gambled on the result, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Redknapp is the latest manager to be filmed in the newspaper's series of investigative reports on corruption in football, the first of which led to the sacking of England manager Sam Allardyce earlier this week.

Football Association rules prohibit players from gambling on games in which they play, while managers must report any knowledge of betting to the governing body.

Redknapp said he only learned of his players' gambling after the game, which his side won. The Telegraph reported that he did not report any misconduct to the FA, while the FA has now said it will investigate all the allegations made once it has received the newspaper's full evidence file.

Redknapp is shown saying in a video that the opposition "murdered us early on," and adding: "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 [sic] all choked, they'd all had a spread bet and everything.''

Football agent Dax Price, who was also present in the Telegraph's film, said players from both teams were betting on the result, with one player having as much as "20 grand" on the line.

Redknapp said the gambling was particularly high on this game because his club, with nothing to play for, had been expected to field a weakened squad, but the players knew he planned to play a strong team.

The Telegraph, citing legal reasons, did not reveal which game, teams, or players were involved in the gambling.

When contacted later by the newspaper, and told that betting by players was against the rules, Redknapp reportedly replied: "Oh would it? Oh, okay. 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."

Asked about his remarks about the players gambling on the game, the Telegraph claims he told the newspaper: "Unbeknownst to me. No, not a spread bet. It wasn't a spread bet. I think they had a bet on the game, but it wasn't, that was nothing to do with me ... after the game I'd heard the rumour the lads had had a bet that day ... I'm not in control of whether they go and have a bet or not."

Price is quoted during the filmed conversation as saying a player, who is not identified, had been in touch about the match in question and urged him to bet on a victory for Redknapp's side.

Price reportedly said the player from Redknapp's club "phoned me and said remortgage your house 'cause the odds were mental, they were 5/2 at the time.''

Redknapp, 69, had a long managerial career, starting at Bournemouth in the 1980s before moving to West Ham for much of the '90s. He then had two stints at Portsmouth, one season at Southampton, four at Tottenham and three at QPR, before stepping down in 2015.

Allardyce's sacking came after he was filmed telling reporters how to get around FA and FIFA rules on third-party ownership of players, and Allaryce said he couldn't understand any objection to the practice, which has been forbidden in England since 2008 and worldwide since 2015.

Information from Press Association was used in this report.

^ Back to Top ^