I told you so.

I have been warning about this problem for years.

A few points.

         1) Is there more fixing in British football than we have seen in                 this investigation?

   Yes. I believe so.  The signs are all there.

However, it has not reached in anyway the levels that we saw in parts of Asia or Italy and Turkey.

2)            The elephant in the room of British football is that many players, coaches and owners gamble.  When enough people gamble there will be problem gamblers.  When you have problem gambling, you have fixing.

3)            Kudos to Claire Newell and the team at the Telegraph. They have done a good job.   Well done.

4)            Their work is in complete contrast to a large section of the British media which for years has resolutely adopted a policy of ‘fixing begins at Calais’.     I have done countless interviews with English journalists who simply will not believe that ‘their players’ would fix. They would not investigate or, in some cases, even speak about the possibility of the issue.

‘The Fix’ is now published in twenty languages. Ridley Scott’s team is producing a Hollywood television series based on it.  More pertinently it has been used by police investigators around the world as their guide –including the Greek Anti-Corruption investigators who even put it in their official court documents.  The new book ‘Insider’s Guide to Match-Fixing’ is attracting attention around the world.   They both detail how the Asian syndicates work to target players, referees and sports officials.  They provide charts, statistics and in-depth interviews to properly understand and defend against fixing.

However, the books have not been published in the UK.   Part of the reason is the refusal of much of the British media industry to examine the ultimate corruption in the sport.

So lets get cracking – finally – and start to clean up the Beautiful Game in the UK.

      5)  Oh yes, one final point. Anyone notice where the alleged   fixer comes from?  Singapore.  Good thing the Singaporean authorities are right on top of the issue – NOT.