Blackburn striker held in fixing probe
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, December 10, 2013
Blackburn Rovers striker DJ Campbell was named yesterday as one of the six people arrested in English football's latest match-fixing investigation.
The arrests came after Britain's National Crime Agency received information from an undercover newspaper investigation, less than two weeks after lower-league players were charged following another paper's investigative work.
Blackburn confirmed Campbell's arrest on its website, but the club said it was prevented from commenting further because it is an ongoing legal matter.
Blackburn plays in the second-tier League Championship, one step below the English Premier League. The 32-year-old Campbell has previously played in the Premier League for Birmingham City, Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers.
The NCA has not identified any of the people arrested, but said yesterday that five were released on bail the previous evening until April, while a sixth was still being questioned.
The latest fixing plot uncovered by The Sun newspaper appears to center on elements of matches — rather than the results — being manipulated.
The Sun reported that officers were likely to look at a yellow card Campbell received for a tackle committed in the first half of Blackburn's game against Ipswich Town on Tuesday.
The Sun also reported that Oldham player Cristian Montano tried to get himself booked in exchange for a payment in a League One match in October. Oldham immediately suspended the player and announced the opening of an internal investigation to establish the facts.
"Anybody who saw that Sky News report will have been devastated and sick to their stomachs," Oldham manager Lee Johnson said on the club's website, referring to television coverage. "However, we have to let the authorities do their job and duties, and we cannot prejudice that."
Another undercover investigation last month, by the Daily Telegraph, led to four people, including two players from a sixth tier semi-professional team, being charged with conspiring to fix matches for an alleged international illegal betting syndicate.
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