FA looking into yellow card shown to an Arsenal player amid suspicious betting activity

The Football Association is examining a yellow card which was shown to an Arsenal player in a Premier League game after concerns that it could be linked to suspicious betting activity. The FA has been alerted by bookmakers to unusual amounts of money being placed on an Arsenal player receiving a yellow card in a match earlier this season. 

In a statement, an FA spokesperson said: “The FA is aware of the matter in question and is looking into it.” The player has not been named and no formal investigation into the matter has yet been opened while Arsenal last night declined to comment. 

Spot-betting allows punters to place bets on specific details of matches – such as bookings, or the number of corners – rather than the overall outcome of a game. In April 2018, defender Bradley Wood was banned for six years after twice intentionally getting booked during Lincoln City’s FA Cup run in the previous campaign. Wood was found guilty of two match-fixing offences after he told friends he would look to get booked in two matches. He also admitted 22 charges of betting on the outcome of matches and one charge of passing on information. 

Meanwhile, Arsenal have received an offer for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Saudi Arabian side Al-Nasr, who want to give the 32-year-old an exit route from the north London club. Aubameyang has not played for Arsenal since early December and was this week sent home from the Africa Cup of Nations for further examinations on a potential health issue. 

The striker was stripped of the captaincy at Arsenal following a series of disciplinary breaches and the club would be open to letting him leave this month. The Arsenal hierarchy were last night still considering Al-Nasr’s proposal, which is thought to be an initial loan offer followed by an obligation to buy for around £6.5 million. Although the fee is relatively small for a player of Aubameyang’s profile and goal record, his departure would remove his £250,000 salary from Arsenal’s wage bill and free up finances as they look to strengthen the squad with a new midfielder and centre-forward. 

Arsenal face Liverpool tonight in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final – the first leg was goalless – and Mikel Arteta has vowed to defend his side with “teeth and nails” as he railed against damaging “lies” following the controversial postponement of Sunday’s north London derby with Tottenham. 

The Arsenal manager insisted that his club did the right thing in asking for the game to be rearranged, saying they might not have even had 11 fit players for the match, and reacted angrily to those who have criticised their decision to request a postponement. 

Arteta, who still has a number of fitness issues in his squad ahead of tonight’s game, said: “We will defend our club with teeth and nails. We are not going to get anybody damaging our name, or trying to lie about things that have not occurred. We will make mistakes, and we will put our hands up, but we will defend our club in a really strong way.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/01/19/mikel-arteta-launches-staunch-defence-arsenal-lies-following/

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