Leading Irish Footballers Warn of Possibility of Match Fixing

Leading figures from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) have said that there is a chance of match-fixing scams taking place in Gaelic sports.

Two leading GAA footballers have said that it would be a mistake to think that Gaelic sports are immune from the possibilities of match fixing.

As a result the GAA and GPA (Gaelic Players Association) have published new guidelines on gambling. The high profile football players Oisin McConville and Niall McNamee were present at the launch of the new guidelines and while they both say that they have never bet on the outcome of a game they were involved in, they believe that it could become a problem for other players.

At the launch McConvilee said, “Certainly, there was lots of temptation… The greatest danger is if we go down the road where a couple of players get together and try influencing the result of a game. Let’s hope we can nip that in the bud before it actually happens. There have been a lot of high-profile cases in cricket and soccer or whatever where that has happened before. I can’t imagine why the GAA would be any different.”

McNamee agreed with McConvilee’s sentiments while the GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell said it would be naïve to think that a GAA player couldn’t be corrupted.